Life with George

[JWBear]

She finally sent a new installment the other day:

I was only able to take a small suitcase because the car was full of their belongings, so full we three had to ride in the front seat. I don't know who cried more, Norma or me, she was homesick for her family and I missed my babies. Poor Frankie he just kept driving. It didn't help when we stopped at a diner for lunch and saw a young girl hitch-hiking with a baby. More tears.

I'll never forget driving out of the snowy mountains into Sacramento and seeing all the flowers in the yards.

George had told me to meet him at a hotel, he gave me the name but I was so excited I forgot it. I knew it was some sort of royalty but there were a lot of those names, so we went to the wrong hotel. After a few hours we realized our [or my] mistake so we went to the Ferry building in San Francisco and I called George and left a pay phone number. He was not back yet from looking for us. When he called he said stay there until he could get back there again [he was in Mare Island]. After an all night vigil we finally got together.

We rented a room in a house that was full of couples like ourselves, we all shared the kitchen and living room. I got a job on Mare Island with the Navy, working in a ice cream parlor. It was a submarine base and we were instructed to make the sundaes or milkshakes any way they requested. The ones who had just docked after months at sea wanted milk or ice-cream and could they put it away. It was one of the most rewarding jobs I ever held.

Frankie had a sister living in the area and we were invited there occasionally. They taught us how to eat artichokes. George and I went to San Francisco one day and had the famous waffles with ice-cream. We were becoming cosmopolitan in our tastes.

After I had been there six weeks or more Norma and Frankie told us that they were returning home because Norma was pregnant. Did I want to go back with them? We decided that it would be the right thing to do as I had no idea how I would get back if I didn't go with them. So off we went again this time only one of us was crying as Norma was happy to go home.

We traveled the southern route this time. It took us thru Pasadena where my sister Lee was living with a friend Ethel [the same one who played at our wedding]. We also stopped to see an Aunt of Norma's who lived in Los Angeles. So it was on the road again, we had to detour to the Grand Canyon, we couldn't miss seeing that.

We were thrilled when during a snowstorm we saw a band of wild horses head to tail, waiting out the storm.

Home again: