Mom and Dad
I don't remember too much of anything any more. Brain tumors and seizures have robbed me of most of my memories. But, I still remember my Mom and Dad.
Dad was a quiet man. Growing up in Oak Lawn Illinois I remember I spent most of the time, when not in school, with Dad in the garage. Dad could fix anything and make anything. He built the garage. It was a "kit" designed to be a standard size for garages then. The lumber and all the other parts were delivered by the local lumber yard. Dad added 10 feet to the length and width so that he would have room to work with the car in the garage. Remembering the cold winters of northern Illinois he built an old wood burning pot-bellied stove into it. In the winter, after about an hour, it got warm enough to shed our thick coats and just work in a sweet shirt.
In the winter Dad would clean, lubricate and if needed rebuild the lawn mower and fix what ever else was broke or not working properly, everything, including kitchen appliances. I would just sit and watch. Sometimes Dad would explain what he was doing but most of the time I would just watch; sometimes hand him a tool. Dad
never threw anything away. He built an attic in the garage and filled
it with old lawn mower parts, car parts, parts for kitchen appliances,
parts that other people threw away, anything he thought he might need in
the future. Dad was mostly quiet in the garage, I guess the garage was his refuge from the hassles of daily life. I think he took me out there with him to keep me from under Mom's feet and from annoying my sisters.
In the summer it was mowing the lawn, fixing the roof of the house, fixing things in the house, painting the house and whatever else that could be done outside.
Dad worked the night shift at Fisher Body division of General Motors. He slept when he got home from work in the morning and
woke up around noon, then went back to sleep after dinner. He worked around the house from lunch to dinner. Dad was a mechanic, he worked on the big machines that stamped out the bodies of General Motor's cars and trucks. I don't think there was anything he couldn't fix or build.
Every 3 years one of the big 3 auto makers labor force (Ford-GM-Chrysler) would go on strike because they wanted a better contract. Most of the time the strike would last through the summer and Dad would be out of work. That's why he moved us all to New Lenox, that house had 5 acres of good crop-growing land with it.
We grew everything Dad could get seeds for. Mom would can or freeze everything so that we could have it through the winter. We also raised chickens for eggs and meat. During those strike years, we didn't have to pay much for groceries. We just grew or raised everything we needed.
Mom was a stay-at-home Mom, that was normal then - 1950s & 60s. Mom would take care of the house, cooking, cleaning, laundry, that kind of stuff. My sisters would be with her. One of my memories of Mom was that in the evening sometimes she would put me on her lap and read to me out of a book of Bible stories. I think it was a "Golden Book" ... Remember those? The book had the story on one side and a big picture of the story on the facing page. Mom would read and point to the words as she read. When she finished the story she would relate the picture to the words. Those books, the stories and Mom's voice on the phone are what kept me alive many years later as I suffered through depression later in my life. Mom's voice on the phone was the best guide I could have to get me through the darkest days of my life. Mom is the most wonderful and caring woman that God ever created, I guess that's why Dad married her. My wife Lolita is a lot like my Mother in many respects, I guess that's why I married her.
More updates will come as I remember them along with pictures as I find them. ... In a sense, I'm like Dad, I have an attic and garage full of stuff that I might need some day in the future.
