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J's
Story
I,
and my twin sister, were born in 1937, in Bridgeport,
CT. on October 10, 1937. I also had an older sister born
in 1935. My mother and father divorced when we were very
young. My father took the three of us and moved to Roxbury,
MA. My mother stayed in Bridgeport. My father was an abuser
of women and, for some reason, loved to smack me around.
I never enjoyed school from day one because I thought
there was something wrong with me. I could not read or
write and my teacher would always call me an idiot. When
my father found out I could not read, he sat me down in
a chair, put a newspaper in my hand and said he would
be back in two hours, and at that time I’d better
be able to read him that newspaper. Of course, I was terrified
because I knew that was impossible. When I could not read
the paper, my father smacked me around again. I knew then
I had to leave home. My older sister, who is now deceased,
told me how to get from Roxbury to Union Station in Boston.
I found out at the train station which train was going
from Boston to Bridgeport, CT. I waited just until the
train was pulling out of the station and I told the conductor
I lost my ticket, and I had to get on the train to see
my mother. As luck would have it, he let me on the train.
I arrived in Bridgeport late in the evening, not having
a clue where to find my mother. I found out where the
projects were in Bridgeport and walked there. There was
a woman on the corner of the street who asked me what
I was doing out so late. I told her I was looking for
my mother who I hadn’t seen in years. I gave her
my mother’s name and, again, as luck would have
it, she knew my mother. She took me to this little crummy
apartment and when my mother opened the door and saw me,
she hugged me and cried so hard it made me cry. I told
her my story and she told me I would never have to go
back and live with my father again.
Again, I went to school and, again, did not enjoy one
day of it. Most of my dislike for school was my teacher,
Mrs. Hall, who, from day one, called me dumb because I
could not read or write. My mother pulled me out of school
in the sixth grade and let me go to work to earn money
for us. My mother was an uneducated person, an alcoholic
and prostitute for as long as I can remember. But she
was the most loving and kindest woman I have ever known.
There was a time in our lives we were so poor, that we
literally lived in an old man’s chicken coop, with
dirt floors, and you could see the outside through the
walls. When I was 17, I could no longer handle this life
style, so I volunteered for the U.S. Army. When I took
the entrance exam, I failed because I could not read or
write. They told me I could try again in six months. However,
one of my mother’s acquaintances was an Army recruiting
sergeant. She took me to see him and explained my situation.
He told me when I took the exam again, just act like I
was writing things on the paper, but leave everything
blank and he would take care of the rest. Of course, I
passed and I was in the Army. I took my training at Fort
Dix, NJ and after training, was transferred to Schofield
Barracks in Honolulu, HI. What a shock that was! I was
in the Army from 1955 to 1957, then from 1957 to 1958
I did a year of reserve in the Marine Corps.
After leaving the service, I went back to Boston to live
with my older sister, but I didn’t stay long because
I had heard so many wonderful things about California.
I bought a 1953 Ford and headed for California. I got
as far as New York when the motor blew up. I did not want
to hitchhike so I went to the train stock yard, met up
with a bunch of guys who were headed to Stockton, CA to
pick fruit during the summer season. They told me to do
what they did and I’d be fine. I jumped on a freight
train and five days later ended up in Stockton, CA. I
worked in the fields with the Mexican and Filipino laborers
picking fruit. After a year of that, I joined the Teamsters
Union and got a job at the Stockton Grain Elevators, and
worked there for nine years. During that time I got married.
While in Stockton, people were always talking about Monterey,
CA and how beautiful it was there. After a short time,
my wife and were divorced. I then moved to La Jolla, CA
where I met my wife-to-be, whom I have now been with for
35 years.
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Sonja's Story
I
was born in Stoneham, MA on September 20, 1947, the second
of three children. I was raised and educated most of my
young life in Billerica, MA. My parents worked hard to
make a living for the family. However, times were tough
in our family and we had little in the way of extras;
ie. no hot running water, no indoor bathroom. Part of
the reason for this life style was that my father was
an alcoholic and had little time to take care of the necessities
of life. I give all my thanks and praise to my mother
(now deceased) for sticking with her family and giving
up everything that most people take for granted today.
She taught us manners, made sure we got schooling, and
always remembered our birthdays. Although we had little,
we had more than most because we grew up in a beautiful
country area where we could run and play with ease. I
have happy memories of my childhood.
At age 19, I married a very unstable young man and three
years later we divorced. We had come to La Jolla, California
together and left each other. It was at this time, 1970,
I met the true love of my life, J Jackson (please read
the Carmel Magazine story). We left the San Diego area
to live in paradise, Pacific Grove, CA. It was love at
first sight for me and we’ve lived here ever since.
Although, I have never had children, I love animals and
was fortunate to have a family consisting of a horse,
cats, parakeets, an orphaned opossum, and a disabled white
rat. I finally whittled down our family to my husband
and two cats, one named Butterfly (of course) and the
other named Minime.
In 1973, my sister died at age 24 from complications of
a tonsillectomy.
My brother died at age 54 due to a life time of drinking,
smoking and accompanying bad habits. Fortunately, I have
a number of great nieces and nephews still living back
east.
When I arrived in Pacific Grove, I enrolled in community
college to acquire secretarial skills and was lucky to
get a part time job with the local U.S. Magistrate. In
1973, I was offered a job in Monterey with the U.S. Probation
Office and stayed in that employment until December 2003.
The main reason I retired from this job was that my eyesight
had deteriorated to the point that when the job was moved
to San Jose, I was unable to travel.
I learned at an early age that I had an eye disease called
Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). Fortunately, I was able to
do all the things I wanted without assistance, ie., travel,
work, hobbies (ballet, horseback riding, bicycling, sewing,
reading mystery novels). It wasn’t until about 1990,
in my early 40's, that the RP started to intrude on my
daily life. I began using hand magnifiers, then graduated
to larger CCTV and computer magnification systems. I consider
myself very fortunate that these items were available
to me so that I could continue doing the things that were
important to me. Now that I am retired, I have had to
learn a whole new way of living. My husband is a very
positive and encouraging person for me and he never complains
about taking me wherever I need to go. Amazingly, the
Blind and Visually Impaired Center of Monterey County,
Blind
&
Visually Impaired Center of Monterey County,is
located only seven blocks from my home, within walking
distance. I am taking braille instruction and am thoroughly
enjoying the challenge of learning a new language immensely.
I still have some usable vision, but I want to be prepared
for the worst case scenario, which is total blindness.
For more information on RP, please visit www.blindness.org.
In
January, 2006, the director of The Blind & Visually
Impaired Center of Monterey County invited me to join
the board of directors. One of their long-time members
had to leave and she thought I would be a positive addition
to their board. I accepted the invitation and was voted
onto the board at their annual meeting in February, 2006.
I am quite excited about this new direction in my life
and plan to share my ideas and enthusiasm with the center
and, hopefully, all of you!
Living
in "The Butterfly House" makes the uncertain
days brighter. Not only am I enjoying it, almost everyone
who has dropped by or driven past, have had a smile on
their face. It continues to be a work in progress with
endless possibilities.
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