Staking out gold mining claims, our first grandchild is born, and STARNET is bought by Ford Aerospace.
THE GOD GAMES: Heaven & Hell...Chapter 27...HELL
Staking a mining claim in the Chariot Canyon was grueling business. The canyon walls were very steep and we had to go up most of the mountainsides on our bellies. The brush was so thick-the canyon had not burned up in years-that there was no way to just stand up and walk the sides of the claim, so we crept along, looking for snakes as we went, because the canyon was full of rattlesnakes. The ground itself was hard and rocky, and little pebbles could cause you to slide back from where you were holding on by your toenails.
We initially staked out six mining claims and a millsite claim. We had it in our minds that we would build a little cabin on the millsite so that we could base our mining business there. We planned to build our own mill eventually so that we could refine our own gold ore. My brother, Charley, loved Chariot Canyon and asked us if he could stay at the millsite and be working on the cabin. That made us very happy and we settled him in up there in an old truck bed made into a shelter for him. There was a stream that ran past the millsite for him to have water. We named the millsite the Golden Oaks Millsite.
It was wonderful to be able to take the children out into the country on the weekends where they could roam and have fun away from our poisonous neighborhood. We would have a barbecue after the work was done, and Bruce taught all of the children how to handle and shoot guns. A gun was a tool in the mountains; a necessary tool. There were rattlesnakes and sidewinders to begin with, and then there was the necessity of keeping people from trying to steal your mining claims and the machinery you had to run the mine. We were a long way from the Sheriff, and the people who came as a threat, came with loaded guns.
My first grandchild, Laura, was born in May of 1983. What a beautiful baby she was! I was so proud of her. Debby brought her out to see us in 1984 and was so lonely for home that she made plans to return permanently. That made me really happy.
My company, Starnet Corporation, was bought by Ford Aerospace and Communications Corporation in 1985. We were all so thrilled to be working for Ford as they required our best work from all of us, and proved our little company to be successful. We worked our hearts out for the Ford management and they were very generous to us in return.
My mother was finally in a bad accident in her car, she drove over a sidewalk and into a palm tree in someone's front yard. She was put in a hospital where they had a chance to observe her for a while and see that she tried to run away at every opportunity. The doctor's decided to have her committed to a locked hospital and I no longer had to worry about her safety. She became as a little child and delighted in playing with the dollies that I bought her. I never saw my mother look as happy as she did now, playing at tea party with her doll babies. You could forgive her for anything she was so delightful.
Unfortunately, daddy didn't fare as well as mother. For a while he kept his own apartment and then he decided to go into an assisted living home. He stopped finding it pleasurable to drive, as his arthritis hurt him so badly, and so he gave up his car; but he got around well on the bus for a while.
The neighborhood settled down some and the children began to do well in school. We all had family therapy once a week and it seemed to keep us together and engaged in the struggle to grow and improve our living conditions. My salary allowed me to get off of welfare totally, but Bruce retained the welfare for his family. I guess he felt the need for security. We were eating well, the children had clothes and shoes, and I could see a lot of blue sky for the future. Then, out of the blue, Bruce's children's mother arrived back in town wanting to see her children. She said that she was divorcing her husband and moving back to San Diego. Bruce's children were ecstatic that their mother was back, even though the two youngest children did not remember her at all. Bruce insisted that she not be allowed to even see the children because she was so self-absorbed and self-centered that he was afraid that she would just take them and run away with them. I counseled him to allow her to see them, but in a contolled environment. He finally did allow her to see them. Boy, did I regret my input on that one! From the time Pat, their mother, saw them, she began to divide and conquer our family. She did not stop her plan until she had Belinda and Janice living with her.
I learned many years later, that Bruce was not good to my children. Some of it was obvious. He and Becky and Debby locked horns many times. Bruce was not as supportive of Becky as he had been, and Debby fought against Bruce so hard that it was little wonder that he didn't care for her. The boys and Becky were treated the worst. Bruce would have my children do all of the house and yard work while he and his children sat and watched them. When I was home on the weekends, all of the children had to clean the house and work at the millsite; it was a lot more equitable then. Charlie was so upset with Bruce that he began to spend his off-school hours with his friend Jay's parents; and they opened up their home to him. Charlie was quiet and an introvert and he did not like Bruce taking the place that was his father's. I understood my son and allowed him to spend time with his friend's family. David was a true scholar and was valedictorian of his Junior High School class. David was always social and had many, many friends both male and female. He was loved by his teachers, and the other people who lived on the block, and that made life palatable for David. Jared missed my being home with him, but he was proud of what I was doing, and he did very well in school.
Tomorrow we are expecting our first black grandchild...
THE GOD GAMES: Heaven & Hell...Chapter 27...HELL
Staking a mining claim in the Chariot Canyon was grueling business. The canyon walls were very steep and we had to go up most of the mountainsides on our bellies. The brush was so thick-the canyon had not burned up in years-that there was no way to just stand up and walk the sides of the claim, so we crept along, looking for snakes as we went, because the canyon was full of rattlesnakes. The ground itself was hard and rocky, and little pebbles could cause you to slide back from where you were holding on by your toenails.
We initially staked out six mining claims and a millsite claim. We had it in our minds that we would build a little cabin on the millsite so that we could base our mining business there. We planned to build our own mill eventually so that we could refine our own gold ore. My brother, Charley, loved Chariot Canyon and asked us if he could stay at the millsite and be working on the cabin. That made us very happy and we settled him in up there in an old truck bed made into a shelter for him. There was a stream that ran past the millsite for him to have water. We named the millsite the Golden Oaks Millsite.
It was wonderful to be able to take the children out into the country on the weekends where they could roam and have fun away from our poisonous neighborhood. We would have a barbecue after the work was done, and Bruce taught all of the children how to handle and shoot guns. A gun was a tool in the mountains; a necessary tool. There were rattlesnakes and sidewinders to begin with, and then there was the necessity of keeping people from trying to steal your mining claims and the machinery you had to run the mine. We were a long way from the Sheriff, and the people who came as a threat, came with loaded guns.
My first grandchild, Laura, was born in May of 1983. What a beautiful baby she was! I was so proud of her. Debby brought her out to see us in 1984 and was so lonely for home that she made plans to return permanently. That made me really happy.
My company, Starnet Corporation, was bought by Ford Aerospace and Communications Corporation in 1985. We were all so thrilled to be working for Ford as they required our best work from all of us, and proved our little company to be successful. We worked our hearts out for the Ford management and they were very generous to us in return.
My mother was finally in a bad accident in her car, she drove over a sidewalk and into a palm tree in someone's front yard. She was put in a hospital where they had a chance to observe her for a while and see that she tried to run away at every opportunity. The doctor's decided to have her committed to a locked hospital and I no longer had to worry about her safety. She became as a little child and delighted in playing with the dollies that I bought her. I never saw my mother look as happy as she did now, playing at tea party with her doll babies. You could forgive her for anything she was so delightful.
Unfortunately, daddy didn't fare as well as mother. For a while he kept his own apartment and then he decided to go into an assisted living home. He stopped finding it pleasurable to drive, as his arthritis hurt him so badly, and so he gave up his car; but he got around well on the bus for a while.
The neighborhood settled down some and the children began to do well in school. We all had family therapy once a week and it seemed to keep us together and engaged in the struggle to grow and improve our living conditions. My salary allowed me to get off of welfare totally, but Bruce retained the welfare for his family. I guess he felt the need for security. We were eating well, the children had clothes and shoes, and I could see a lot of blue sky for the future. Then, out of the blue, Bruce's children's mother arrived back in town wanting to see her children. She said that she was divorcing her husband and moving back to San Diego. Bruce's children were ecstatic that their mother was back, even though the two youngest children did not remember her at all. Bruce insisted that she not be allowed to even see the children because she was so self-absorbed and self-centered that he was afraid that she would just take them and run away with them. I counseled him to allow her to see them, but in a contolled environment. He finally did allow her to see them. Boy, did I regret my input on that one! From the time Pat, their mother, saw them, she began to divide and conquer our family. She did not stop her plan until she had Belinda and Janice living with her.
I learned many years later, that Bruce was not good to my children. Some of it was obvious. He and Becky and Debby locked horns many times. Bruce was not as supportive of Becky as he had been, and Debby fought against Bruce so hard that it was little wonder that he didn't care for her. The boys and Becky were treated the worst. Bruce would have my children do all of the house and yard work while he and his children sat and watched them. When I was home on the weekends, all of the children had to clean the house and work at the millsite; it was a lot more equitable then. Charlie was so upset with Bruce that he began to spend his off-school hours with his friend Jay's parents; and they opened up their home to him. Charlie was quiet and an introvert and he did not like Bruce taking the place that was his father's. I understood my son and allowed him to spend time with his friend's family. David was a true scholar and was valedictorian of his Junior High School class. David was always social and had many, many friends both male and female. He was loved by his teachers, and the other people who lived on the block, and that made life palatable for David. Jared missed my being home with him, but he was proud of what I was doing, and he did very well in school.
Tomorrow we are expecting our first black grandchild...
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