YOSMITE, RENO, DONNER PASS, LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA at its best

Back again dudes....and dude'ess

I'm going to tell you a story of 1960 and 1961 in California and then we will move to Arizona, but first - wait there's more.....

I ate my first McDonalds in Los Angeles in 1961 (don't look this up..lol) I might be wrong but I remember it being a burger bar and certainly not the mega enterprise it is now - don't forget though this is many many years ago. I ate a quarter pounder with cheese and guess what I had today - a quarter pounder with cheese, fries and a diet coke....still tastes the same and I enjoy every single one I have ever eaten...they are kewl!!!!! I also ate McDonalds pancakes and syrup yesterday I'm going to be a big fat pig very soon, but I don't care....well yes I do actually, but I'm working it all off typing like the wind and moving my lips to the beat of my typing....I learnt to type by music wearing a bib...but I digress -

California is the most wonderful place - I will wax lyrical at this point - it is many countries wrapped into one - golden California though is the best way to describe it. The golden grass has a colour all its own it is muted but bright and Oh so lovely. It makes for a beautiful look and is a backdrop for a great State.

I think though there are some wonderful things that should be mentioned places that defy explanation. Donner Pass - now I was there when it was snowing and it was 4 feet of snow in the morning it was white, pristine and cold but refreshing and it was my first taste of snow. I have had many snowy experiences but this was my first and I went bezerk....totally bezerk!!!!!!!!!! lolololol

It was crisp and white and sounded like thunder when I walked and ran thruogh it....didn't know that the ground underneath was different heights but who cares at 9 years old...I just adored it. For those who do not know Donner Pass was the only Pass that those going to California (out West) were able to take their wagons over the Sierra Nevada...it is a very special place....

My mother's friends had driven us there and because of the snow we were unable to leave until the plough had been through. As it was a very very little place then (don't know about now) it took hours and hours so I just went blue and got very wet and didn't end up with a chill because I didn't stop....running, jumping, doing angels (before they were cool) and generally had a ball. We were staying in a motel...now let me tell you about American motels....

They all look the same, have the same signs (different names) but all the signs are noisy and crackle. This is a fact, no matter where you are in the U.S.A. the motel signs crackle, they burp and carry on something wicked....lol Also adding in here they used to smell the same, slightly tobaccoish with a slight smell of sweat..ewww I can remember all the motel rooms I have been in with the same bad wooden headboards and the fluffy counterpanes...not a good look, prefer now something along the lines of Hiltons...only

The motels themselves (and I have seen lots of movies with them featured since I was in my last American one) don't seem to have changed that much. They are maybe two storied - in my day they were only one story - and Holiday Inns were double storied...but they were the same no matter where we went.

This little journey covered the wonderful Lake Tahoe and Reno and Donner Pass plus I will tell you about staying in the old hotel at Yosmite Valley....what a place awe inspiring peaks and a long green valley

In my minds eye the hotel was enormous with huge rooms and windows to die for....the dining room was capable of seating I'm sure 500 people and it was totally full. There was a huge fireplace on one side made of stone (boulders I learn't 30 years later when I did interior designing (how posh is that not really though by today's standards) and the decor was certainly Native American with overtones of Spanish and French...but it worked - when you are nine it doesn't matter it just looked f...ing good, huge and big with lots of brown and yellow and red, also leather furniture in the lobby, big and bold stuff from memory

We of course weren't told about the special effect that happened when it got dark as our friends wanted us to see for ourselves the awesome and spectacular event.....those of you who have seen what I am about the explain know how wonderous and astonishing it actually is......

Going for a coffee and a flex of the fingers....brb



An enormous fire is built on the top of an excruciatingly tall bulbous rock formation and this fire is tended all day to get it to the stage when it is blazing and they push it over the edge....well I can remember the goosebumps I got when I saw everyone stand up and look out the windows towards the spectacular fall of embers and fire and I imagine as it was so far away bloody big logs which were all blazing, but by the time they hit the valley (which is a considerable distance down) they I think are just ash....this spectacular event is every night and I heard from the friend of a friend who has recently been there that it still is performed....wow nice to think that there are some things that havn't changed over time.....thank God....!!!!!

This friend of a friend did also say that they stayed in a motel and that there were lots of buildings but when I was there I can only remember a camping site and the hotel...must have been eons ago that I was there - yeah rite!!!! I'm turning 60 soon and I can't believe it I'm still feeling about 12 years old, especially when I am typing in here and remembering the gorgeous times I had. Yosmite Valley is a stop for EVERYONE - IT IS AWESOME - if you ever get the opportunity to go there stay in the hotel (if it still exists) must Google it - I will do that after this blog if written - and drive along the Truckie River and - hang on - might be another river - might have that wrong...anyhoo - we did go for a walk the next morning but were told to keep to the road and not go off it....Now my mother is a hiker (sorri was) no longer on the planet, she is keeping me company like she does every night here on the computer but she is in a lovely wooden box and is ashes...now how creepy is that peeps?

Not creepy at all for me...she was my best friend and will be always. Must put her ashes in the golden and floral urn (Chinese ginger jar) that I purchased years ago...just can't seem to do that part....lol I opened a business a few years ago and took her out of my bedroom draw and she has been out ever since.....I put flowers and bows on her box and she joined in the party....I'm if nothing else happy to include everyone in my events and outings....lol p.s. she was in the kitchen on top of the microwave and nobody knew who/what she was....thank goodness - I'm known as eccentric but I understand that might have been a little insane....hehe

I digress.....having a ciggy and a coffee and now going to gulp down a small bottle of diet coke, need the eenees....caffeine, nicotine etc....to keep going......want to do a significant blog tonight.....

Well that was a little redundant...I had the coffee then the ciggy and of course still have the Whooping Cough so coughed my guts up and now feel like I have had a total workout, but that's a good thing...lololol

Driving in California was kewl except that mum ended up screaming all the time and gasping furiously whilst Fred or Fran was driving as she was in the passenger seat in the Yanky car but it was a driving seat for her here in N.Z. this is awful I remember having to tell her on a number of occasions - yelling, I am good at that, move over we are on the wrong side of the road.....hehehe this I still remember when I go down a one way street.....yet again I digress!!!

Lake Tahoe was beautiful dark green and all the fir trees were lovely right down to the sides of the lake and you have to see this for yourselves green trees to the edge of a lake - just thought of Johnny Depp in Secret Window...don't know why but he lived in an area I think close to a lake and it reminded me of it.....Lake Tahoe that is....

Now for an exciting different area in California the Sequoia Park - home of the Redwood Trees.... (sp might be wrong) but at the pace I type I dont' give a damn...these trees are magnificent and reminded me of our Kauri Trees here in New Zealand, they are as old and huge...I mean HUGE, they can take a car through the middle and I've walked on top of one and walked underneath them and walked on the wonderful spongy ground around them with the needles and they smell good.....what is this tonight with me about smell......mmmmmm I know the black cat is still around and when I went out to do the shopping tonight at 10.30 p.m. he came in and sprayed....ewwww yucky little F...k..r???? My townhouse smelt like a sewer he has to go....and I mean Go Go GO GO GO....why hasn't that happened? Will check it out later today.....

I remembered I didn't finish about the Yosmite walk....now we didn't know that bears lived in this forest...lol and when we were about 500 yards from the entrance to the hotel a bear popped up about 50 feet away and our friends high tailed it back toward the hotel...now my mum (totally fearless) decided that a closer look would be a good idea, well thanks to another bear appearing and making a large growl sound she changed her mind and walked briskly back to our friends who were hovering behind a car...good idea I thought....and I still do, bears and I don't mix...will tell you the story of the pies soon.....

I'm actually tired and had enough of my day its now 1.30 a.m. and I'm going to bed....nite all

Wish you every single one of you a fantastic day today wherever you are in the world and I wish for no more killing or deaths its got to stop.....enough of world politics

Goodnight from me and its goodnight from him






.....

"ODE TO OBAMA"

C H A N G E


Changes never before seen in our world need addressing now Mr President


Heartfelt knowlege that you possess is being used for motiviation to change


Admiration for your consumate use of power not being judgemental and aware of our needs


Now we can wait and watch you work your miracles to change the world into a better place for us to live


Get up and go never before seen in a President


Everything our world needs in a great package of knowledge and harmony metered out with kindness and thought


Thank you Barak Obama for being the right man for the job at hand, change is so needed now for our society to survive we require a leader of your standard to take us into the next phase.......


My best wishes to you and your family

Kind regards

Your Magic Blogger

Robyn Berry-Luke
Auckland, New Zealand



......"the right man for the right job"

GENETIC PRE DISPOSITION TO LUNG CANCER

Blog number 6


Tonight I had a telephone call from Auckland Hospital with an AMAZING new Respiratory Genetic questionnaire...... I am totally blown away (pardon the pun)....

Raewyn asked me numerous questions all of which I was so pleased to answer and hear, they are covering an area that has been in desperate need of a big and I mean big TWEET peeps..... Doctor Robert Young a General Surgeon and Respiratory Geneticist..(sp) is conducting a new survey on genetics and smoking....what a blast, I am as I said totally blown away (no pun intended).....

One of the questions was: Would I be prepared to take a genetic test to see if I was likely to have the gene that would give me Lung Cancer? -- my answer in a heartbeat was YES - I would and from this I deem that maybe the world is finally going to find OUT IF WE CAN SMOKE - SOME OF US ONLY - AND NOT NECESSARILY HAVE A PRE DISPOSITION TO LUNG CANCER , COPD, EMPHASEMA ETC......

ROCK ON WITH THIS TEST......YES I feel everyone should be able to have it, I do know that it is already available from Australia for $50 NZ but I havn't had the money to have it done... They send a swab from inside your mouth to Brisbane in Australia and your genetic code is analysed -  what a call

IRONY, IRONIC....OMG OMG OMG


S.M.O.K.E. - maybe we can come out of the closet and maybe the Tobacco Companies (this is my tweet on them) could start to stop S T O P putting in the toxic chemicals into the tobacco - there are Gods in the heavens shining down on me now...and hopefully on an entire generation now and those to come in the future......WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





Raewyn and I discussed and I answered questions on things like why I smoke...what does it do for me....etc.etc.

The questionnaire was explicit and had a good bite to it with a lot of depth I want to thank the person who wrote it - it was AWESOME covered all the gremlins that I have about my own smoking kewl and I am sure will go to assist many new young people who will start smoking no matter WHAT information or advertising or ASH does out there...........


I am about to Google Dr Robert Young (now of course here I have to mention that this name brought back memories like you wouldn't believe) the actor Robert Young was my mothers favourite actor she adored him and of course he was the consummate doctor on television for many many years in America......you look it up peeps???????





Put in the following for Google (I'm not going to list the sites they are many and various) but will tweet a couple of them onto Twitter I put in

"young,robert,doctor/medicine/genetics/new zealand/genes got a plethora of answers with heaps of articles and information that is WONDERFUL..... been reading for over an hour and am wrapped with his work and I again can say I am blessed to have been chosen to participate.........


Bloody Hell - I feel like the dog in the tv advert that misses the back of the truck and says "BUGGER" will find out a link to this advert it is a classic.......

I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANSICO HIGH ABOVE THE BAY?

Been sitting in front of the computer screen thinking about San Francisco and humming that song - "I left my heart in San Francisco high above the bay"

I will always remember the first time I walked through Union Square there were pigeons everywhere and an elderly man sitting on a park bench was feeding them bread, they were flying in from all the buildings around the square and it was amazing to watch. (There is that word again 'amazing') seem to use it all the time but it is the best descriptive word I can think of

We were standing opposite I Magnum looking towards Blums and the Macy's entrance it will always been etched in my mind as the sun was warm and inviting the pigeons by this stage had settled on the ground and everyone seemed happy, now at 8 years old everyone does seem happy or just bad, one or the other nothing in between. I will mention here that we had walked out of our hotel in Geary Street and gone across the crossing - I have always had a fear of crossing roads (even now) from the accident my confidence has always been nil where it comes to streets, especially busy ones. You should see me taking off across Ponsonby Road here in Auckland - bit deep breath and then I launch out like a maniac and being a lady don't run, but go at a great rate of knots to get to the other side as soon as possible.....lol

Mum and I must have walked hundreds of thousands of miles in our years away from New Zealand but we walked most of all in San Francisco and London. S.F. was wonderful to walk around and also there was the added bonus of the cable cars going up the hills, God they are steep and the one's without steps are just bloody

Used to love driving in Fred's car going down with the pitch of the road and then the cross section one which is flat and then down again the car seemed to launch out over the edge and then fall down at a great rate which was almost I might surmise the same as a G force in a plane

Now close to us at the Franciscan was Woolworths on the corner of Powell and Market on the harbour side (sorri harbor)... we used to go their first as they sold I think what you call bear claws - pastry with an orange glaze they were absolutely wonderful - my mouth is watering as I'm typing....Oh they were huge so we used to only get one (can't remember how much they were though) but I can remember the taste...awesome!!!

In the walk down from Geary to Market on the left side of the street was a cigar making shop with a guy working in a window - half open - a hot sugar and peanut making shop (trying to remember the name of the candy) mmm - Oh got it peanut brittle - a steak house (that I still covet to this day) and then Woolies.... Of course this was a daily tour/routine and then we would out of the donut area and launch into Market Street. Usually turning left and walk down to a large Hotel on the other side of the road about 3 blocks down. Can't remember the name to type it here but it was the hotel with the Russian Tea Room in it. What a place....full of palms and lovely white linen and smelt of warm toast

We would walk down as far as we could looking into the windows and then come back and have a hot chocolate for me and a coffee for Mum, we didn't have much money so only had the 'tea' about once every two months

Then back up to Joseph Magnum on the corner in Market Street and (?) one I don't remember the name of....City of Paris was on the top corner opposite the square, we used to get up the ire of the policeman sitting on the top of an awning with a loud hailer and he would spew forth would the woman and the girl not jay walk - use the crossing.......he did this every day as my Mother wasn't going to do anything she didn't want to....lol Wow into Joseph Magnum's shoe department - this is where I would cringe - there was a guy who worked there (probably about mid 30's) who wore a brown suit - will never ever forget him - he smelt funny and would be very good at fitting mother's shoes and then he would turn to me and smile - now I haven't ever seen this smile since and he would put his hands on the back of my calves and give me the total sh....ts....... and mumble things like you are nearly old enough to be my wife....Now let me say here that my mum was sitting right next to me and she was so focused on her own feet and shoes that she Never Ever Hear this guy....I used to have a panic attack every time we went in there, which was about once a week. Do you think she would listen to me I tried to tell her as best I could how I felt but she totally disregarded me and for this I am not a happy camper....he every now and then he comes into a nightmare and I can feel the creepy hands on my legs...ewwwwww.....eewwwww....... and I still haven't worked out after all these years what he smelt of....mmmmmm eewwwww again.....!!!!!! ug and men in brown suits should just disappear off the face of the earth...the hairs on my neck are now up like a cats!!!

Sundays were special we would go to the top restaurant in the Sir Francis Drake and the chefs used to cook eggs 'over easy' right there in front of you what a sight this little pan full of butter with two eggs bubbling Oh just bliss - then the view was pretty damn good as well and always busy - we went about 10 a.m. and to this day I still get hungry around that time and as its morning tea here, I eat - often an egg poached (better for me) on a crumpet...see the programming is so in there

Then off up the hill via the cable car to The Fairmont and the other one on the other corner - which had a Scottish bar full of tartan in it...can't remember its name and I googled the other day and panned everywhere we used to walk it was AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING - except lots of things had changed well it is 52 years ago.....just a wee few years - nice to know that many things though are still the same. The wonderful restaurant under the Fairmont in California St. with the water/pool in the middle and dining all around it - wonder what its called, it is still there....kewl

Into the Fairmont all red and lovely carpets, very busy pattern on the floor though!!! We met Andy Williams one night whilst in the bar outside the conference room where he as singing omg - he was such a short guy and had makeup on....well he could sing like an angel though...lol didn't get his autograph he only stopped in the bar to have a glass of water before his show and mum said hello....ever so posh like and he looked at us (mother and daughter with hats on.....) and said where are you two from.....then we said New Zealand and he smiled and said maybe one day I'll go there - have to go singing now.....mmmmm kewl Used to watch him on t.v. heaps with the Osmond kids memories omg memories......now I have moon river going through my head....bugger!!!

Just had a thought - but its gone.....where the hell did it go...anyway, got it....most of this stuff I'm spewing can be verified probably on the net the dates Andy sang at the Fairmont in 1959....can't be bothered checking myself though

Now I remember the smell down at Fisherman's Wharf those crabs cooking in the big pots (do they still do that I wonder) and then we would go to Tarantinos and sit and eat crab with butter and it was ambrosic....would always have rocqufort (sp) dressing (blue cheese) on my salad actually more dressing than salad and I still eat salad the same way none of that yucky french stuff for me a good old fashioned mayo or (I make up a blue cheese dressing myself) for eating with my lettuce - has to be heart though and lots of pepper and tomatoes.....mmmm yummy. Have an old menu from Tarantinos and I look at it every now and then just for posterity's sake.

The Golden Gate park, what can I say - the Japanese Tea House the aquarium and the area outside where we watched lots of things over the years - ballet, shakespeare and music....during the day and at nights (thinking of that movie with the hispanic girl and blond dude) The Wedding Planner when they are in this area listening to music....omg it took me back. Then all the lovely old red buildings - can see them in my minds eye as I'm typing. For those of you who haven't been to S.F. google and have a ball and remember me......and my mum we walked every inch of the place....wouldn't go on the bus see other blog.....made me angry

Mother went out one night (without me cry cry cry) only time she didn't take me in S.F. I stayed with the consulate general's wife - she went to Bimbo's 365 club and saw Gypsy Rose Lee....sorry I missed it but was far too young - a couple of friends from New Zealand were in S.F. and they had a dinner party there have the photograph of the night....Johnny Cave his wife Elsie and about 10 other people.......hehe.   Did have a menu but its gotten lost over these years.....gone bye a long time ago now

Getting a little tired its 1.31 a.m. so will have to make this a two parter but China Town - wow ordering chinese food by a number kewl and Trader Vic's think it is still there - remembered their Butterfly chicken with pineapple and that they had shrunken heads from New Zealand on their walls, which made us creep out but others not so much....they didn't have friends who were Maori, we did

Will go into across the Golden Gate to Ross etc. next blog and expand a little from downtown

Nice chatting with you - God I have a lot to say....and I can't believe I can remember so much, thank goodness I'm off the mental health drugs for the past 23 years or so I haven't remembered anything including if I had gone to the toilet or not....that is how much they suppressed my brain and body...well no more all gone g o n e gone


Night all

Hotels I adore them - spent a lifetime in them as well. American one's are the best?

Now I finished off in California in the last blog at the St. Franciscan Hotel which was just behind the St. Francis. Where we were was an old hotel with large rooms each had a bathroom and there were lots of long staying guests who all sat in the lobby and watched t.v.

We were on the 11th floor - this is not a problem normally except moi had nerves of jelly (jello) and couldn't go up nor down in a lift so I very quickly became fit as I walked up and down 11 (actually 22) flights of stairs at least twice if not up to as many as five/six times a day. Sometimes my mother would just come down or up with me in the lift she had to hold my hand (she did a lot of hand holding over the years) as I used to watch t.v. with the other long staying guests. I remember one program about Hong Kong (in black and white) starring an Australian actor who played a police person (can't remember his name at the moment) but I do remember he had an incident on an aircraft flight to Australia from California and everyone around him was given free flights to where - ever as he was so objectionable. He has long since passed away......mmm still can't remember - can visualise the face though. Oh he was in 'The Birds' with that lovely blonde woman. In that movie they have a shot in a local pet store in S.F. and I used to go there every day to check on the various animals...so the name

I have had a lifetime t.v. fetish (yes I call it that...lol) I am currently blogging and listening to Monk...whom I find fascinating he is a little like me slightly touched....it as you all have read started on the ship - that big box!!!

Also over the years it has (t.v. that is) been used as a baby sitter for me for hours and hours and hours as my mother was an older mum she had me when she was 46 and her and her friends would be partying on down and I would be shoved in front of the t.v. hence knowing so much about the 60's and what was played over the air waves...pulling on my hard drive I think we have the English to thank for t.v. it was produced just after the second world war....enough of that history...hehe more about moi..........lol

Now this sitting in the lobby and watching t.v. also started a lifelong people watching mode which I thoroughly enjoy and will just go out to sit and watch the world go by. There were three older persons and I mean in their 80's and two younger men (don't know maybe 30ish) who were always talking and watching this lobby t.v. I decided that I wanted to be like one of these older women and look like her when I was her age...Now it could be said that I have their ages totally wrong they may have only been in their 50's or 60's but God help me they seemed bloody old and decrepit. There was this one women who always looked immaculate with no hairs out of place, painted nails and beautiful makeup - not a lot but everything colour coded and well put together, she also had a french roll in her hair which had the pins perfectly in line and the same distance apart.....kewl eh?

Now at the moment I am suffering from Whooping cough...still around and making me feel really unwell, but when we were in this hotel we both contracted the Asian Flu during its first epidemic I can remember how horrible I felt, both my mother and I were so sick we couldn't go out to eat and there were others in the hotel in the same boat so the young man who was the bag boy...ran errands for us all. This also became very difficult as we didn't have any money - remember the monetary difficulties ex New Zealand...well we ran out we were both very sick and no food and nothing to drink other than tap water. We had a couple of sticks of gum and we chewed these lovelies for two days plus only drank water. In the meantime the Consulate was endeavouring to obtain more money for us but they were finding it impossible to organise...so this I think is the point at which money, food and I parted company and ever since then its been a problem. We were both so sick than we couldn't walk to the bathroom and had to literally crawl backwards and forwards to the toilet. Will just mention a little side bar here....

In S.F. there are often and I mean often slight tremors and I remember being unsteady on my feet and thinking that while I was cleaning my teeth I was going to fall over but actually it was a tremor and we did get used to them eventually.  These tremors just became part of the every day world - not even a worry

Now the cooking when we did have food was interesting as I said there was a little one element stove on a bench with a small sink about 6 inches by 6 inches in size and a very tiny little frig in this nook...we used to heat lots of one pot meals, still not that into baked beans thanks to this culinary feasting via the cupboard but I'm into toast so that was always a last resort. Boy am I a quick draw mcgraw!!! I can toast over a fixed element with my fingers no tongs required - I had to learn this trick as we didn't have tongs and a fork through the bread only heated up and burnt me..hehe

I have fingers like a chef can lift hot stuff out of anything...have been known to burn myself though if I don't concentrate on it totally in other words totally focus or your cooked, literally

Just before I finish up I would like to make a comment on segregation...we lived in it, with it, around it and it totally SUCKED we came from a country where our brown people (Maori) were treated equally and came into a city where when you got on the bus the black people had to either stand up or get off so that we could sit down or stand in the bus....this I remember being the MOST horrific and ikky thing I have ever had to do. My mother and I would walk for miles because of this....and I have always been adamant that no one, and I say no one, should be discriminated against at any level, of any colour, race,creed or religion - it should never ever happen, but of course it does still to this day and I am appalled with every single one of them

PTSD - lifelong affects California 1959

Now in my last blog about California I alluded to an incident - well here is the gist of it.....

The night before we were to leave to come back to New Zealand on the Mariposa we had to stay in a motel in San Jose (just out of San Francisco) as the children of our friends had measles and I hadn't had them so they thought it best for us to stay overnight and then be collected in the morning and then be taken into San Francisco to the ship.

We arrived at this motel 'Ricky's Studio Inn' in Palo Alto and what a shambles ensued. We booked in and then took ourselves (mother and I) into the lift which was really cool a glass one on the outside of the motel going up to the 3rd floor to our room. The lift stuck between the lobby and the first floor and then the saga begins.....

It was July 1959 extremely hot and there was no air in the lift after about 10 minutes as the sun was shining and the air-conditioning didn't work unless the lift was working. We were stuck inside like fish in a bowl with another lady who started to hyperventilate and my mother got her to sit down and tried to calm her down...this didn't happen as she had a panic attack - so we are stuck inside the lift with no air, about 120 degrees and rising and with a woman who was flipping out.

On the outside in the Lobby people were trying the organize the opening of the lift doors but they were firmly stuck because of the lack of air inside and the vacuum it was causing. It was so hot in there I can still remember how awful it felt and every now and then (even 52 years later) can totally go into that space and flip out myself. Typically they called the police and a fire crew who endeavored to get us out. They didn't want us to sue them (we did this is another blog) so they were working very hard and very fast to organize an exit.

We were actually stuck inside for over 1 and a half hours and in the end we were almost comatose and starting to become very unwell. In the meantime outside in the lobby the service crews were trying to fix the lift and had gone down the service man hole and were working on the electrics. They were unable to break the windows of the lift as it was brand new and had very thick glass.......only been in two outside glass lifts in my life since...wonder why lollollol

Finally the doors were prized open and we were helped out by two firemen and one policeman. We were being assisted across the lobby and I was holding my mother's hand. We were half way to the seats and I disappeared down into the man hole. I fell down 16 feet into the service hole as the lid had not been put back properly by the crew and the lid also fell on top of me. On the way down I took off my nose on the metal steps (I can remember them as I fell) and landed in the bottom and then the lid fell on top of me. This lid was heavy and tiled as the lobby was black and white ceramic tiles which I had noticed was very pretty never going to have a black and white floor in any house of mine..hehehehe

My mother was at the top of the service hole screaming down at me and the policeman leapt down and pulled the lid off me. Now I can remember exactly what was inside this area to this day! I looked around it wasn't very big maybe 6ft by 8ft???? I didn't feel bad I just felt very heavy and the policeman lifted me out by taking me up with a fireman's lift. There was an absolute shambles at the top when he lifted me out and I must have looked absolutely awful my mother nearly fainted as my nose was missing (pushed up onto my forehead) and the was significant bleeding (blood everywhere not only on my face and head but also on my legs) I had broken my femur and it was protruding through the skin. This for me wasn't that traumatic, all I wanted to see was my face and no one would get a mirror. I had seen the horror on my mothers face and wanted to see what she was seeing. I remember asking many times for this over the next few hours but they wouldn't show me as the bone was protruding out and there was no skin over it. My leg had been up behind me and was badly broken. I have in my own home always had heaps of mirrors and I know there is a fundamental issue with them......

The policeman I wrote to for 15 years after this incident and he died in 1974 he retired from the force in 1961 Mick Fendonson I think, I will always be grateful to him for his help and his calm and amazing demeanor it was so bizarre he was so calm and everyone else was totally flipping out. By this stage the ambulance had arrived but they wouldn't take me as we didn't have insurance and according to the driver we were also aliens and therefore non transportable. Now I remember my mother walking up to this man and saying the following about 3 inches from his face...'if you don't take my daughter to the hospital NOW IMMEDIATELY I will put a Maori hoodoo on you that will kill you and yours for eternity' OMG this is etched in my brain and how she got it out I don't know. Trauma at this level is such an amazing thing....you have total control but no control at all.

The driver of the ambulance flinched and mumbled something - don't know what - but they put me in the back of the ambulance and we took off with the siren going full bore. Nowadays I don't flinch when I hear a similar siren but for a long time I would tremble when I heard one. Very pleased that sirens are also different sounding now.!!!!!!

The nearest hospital was the Palo Alto Medical Center attached to the Stamford University. It was their training hospital and a state of the art facility but reasonably old. They backed into the bay and just as the doors opened out walked two doctors who were going home from their shift. They overheard my mother talking and because of her accent walked over and asked if we needed help? Mother said that we were from New Zealand and that she needed help with me as I was at that point starting to lose so much blood that I was evidently at deaths door, this I was told some months later.

Doctors Mark Granis and William Fielder (their names are etched in my brain as well) took the gurney from the medic and ran me inside to the trauma center. At this point I think I was reasonably together and asking lots of questions the main one being I want a mirror.........now please?? I wanted to see what had happened.

Dr William Fielder had been in New Zealand during the war and he was a plastic surgeon and Mark Granis was a bone guru. Fancy out of all the world finding these two men in all this panic in America at the same time in the same place....there is a God!!!!

Now because of my injuries they were unable to give me any pain medication and from that point on in my life I have watched so many hospital dramas (and I wonder why?) with objectiveness and know so much about medical procedures I should have actually become a doctor myself. I was fully awake and they started to work on me with a nurse immediately cleaning off the blood and one doctor at my head and one at my waist they started their healing procedures and used all their consummate skills to get me right.

He stitched on my nose by bringing the skin down over the bone and he refashioned it on the spot. So I don't have the same nose as the family nose....hehehe I had over 350 stitches I think and have a photograph of me in the hospital about two weeks later and I look amazing with all these black sutures in my nose.....the leg was another story. He had to put the bone back under the skin stitch the skin together and drilled through from the right to the left of my leg at my knee (I still have two little scars) with an actual drill (hand driven) and he put in a metal pin. I was then put into traction for about 3 weeks.

During this time I was fully awake and can remember everything that they did and what they talked about vividly..... My mother wasn't told to leave she stood next to me for the 3 hours it took to get me right and during that time she and the doctors talked about the war, New Zealand and everything you can think of....while they diligently worked on my body.

I apologize to those of you who may be squeamish, for me it wasn't that bad but for my mother it must have been so bloody awful and so far out there......the next day she had a shower and because of the trauma caused all the color in her hair actually went and she went from blonde to white literally overnight.

Now I'm going to stop here as there is a plethora of other stuff to tell you guys and I know that finally after all these years writing this down hopefully will take it out of my brain sufficiently for me to move on.....

I have suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome ever since and I had a psychotic break at aged 47 when they diagnosed me as bi-polar....but this is another blog.

Night night all.......

Talk to you soon again

TWIN-SET AND PEARLS - California 1959 - I DON'T THINK SO

Twin set and pearls - California 1959...


Well we were living with an American family in a tract house which made it very difficult to find when mother and I went for our daily constitution...'the walk' (once more around the Promenade Deck to make 1 mile) we would try different ways each day but found that the local shops were fascinating.

There was a little block of shops at the end of the semi main road into the subdivision (think of the name on the wall but can't bring it up) sorry.   These shops were a plethora of goodies and the main stop each day was the drug store.  Now here we had chemists only and dairy's but certainly NOT put together with a soda fountain OMG how decadent was this?   We not that slowly went through the menu pie, banana splits, pie a la mode, pie with cheese - you name it we tried it.   I still to this day have a favourite - hot fudge and marshmallow sundae with cream on the top and sprinkles.  Except for the past 35 years or more I haven't been able to have the marshmallow part as no one here has brought it in. That lovely white fluffy stuff can't wait to get back to America and have one - now ofcourse its insulin first (Type 2 diabetes) but by God I'm going to have one first thing off the plane.  When we eventually lived in San Francisco we went to Blums every second day for a treat on the way into Macys - Blums was off the Square and Macy's door was behind the soda fountain....wow it brings back memories and my mouth is full of water in anticipation - interesting.

Now also in these shops was a PIZZA place which we checked out and found the interesting taste, texture and temptation of a double cheese about day 3.   One thing makes me laugh even now all those years later my mother nor I knew how to pronounce pizza - we learn't pretty quickly though as the nice Italian man behind the counter giggled every time we came in, we had called it pizzzaaaa...just say it WRONG and say the z's as ZED.  Interesting!!!

A small flower shop with exotic flower we had never seen some of which we had had on the ship after we docked in Suva and Honolulu things that didn't really smell except looked so exotic and bizarre to us from a daphney, hollyhock, daliah and generally a fairly English garden

The one way we found the house after our little walks, which probably were at least 2 miles, was that in the front garden when they first moved in they had planted a palm and it was slightly off centre so it was our Google Earth coming home to the right house indicator.   These palms had been distributed to all the houses for their gardens and so they were everywhere also the colour coding of the houses didn't help got in the wrong street (they all looked alike) went to a pink, yellow, blue or white house (we were pink) it was the wrong one....think of the movie with Michael J Fox and the tract housing featured in that - have a great memory for trivia....lol

Now on about the fifth day it was a Saturday and the other children decided that it would be a great idea to take me to see a movie at their local ciniplex (just opened) 1959.  Now I had seen lots and lots of movies as my local picture theatre here in Remuera was the Tudor (long since gone) and they played films for the children on Saturdays so I had seen movies like "The Famous Five" and some children's adventure movies (all short probably only 1 hour long max) and ofcourse had seen the Wizard of Oz not long before we left for the States

This local cinema wasn't that far away so the parents all decided that they would go to lunch and we could see the movie.   I was thrilled as it was the first time these American children had actually tried to bond with  me I had been a total alien up until this point...but I was unaware of their plotting.......hehehehe   The movie house was enormous with hot buttered popcorn, soda and lots of lollies I had never seen before so armed with hands full of everything in we went.   Now in 1959 you could smoke inside the cinema and the movies ran on after each other not like in New Zealand where they played at 12.05, 1.45 6.30 etc. these just ran back to back.   We sat down and the last the credits were running for the movie - so settled in to be amazed and really looking forward to a break.   LITTLE DID I K N O W.......what was going to happen.  Me (funnily enough I'm still gullible sometimes at 59 years old) but at 8 they had me good and proper.   It was a new style of movie for general release so age me being the youngest at 8 wasn't a problem.  The movie started with enormous sound (quadraphonic - my ears just about blew out) and up on the screen

The biggest most awful sight I had ever seen coming toward me - a cyclops dragging a (I supposed) dead dinosaur which it had killed.  O M G ......... I totally froze - must have gasped as they all giggled and said things like you ain't seen nothin yet!!!!!!  The god awful puppets (certainly not in Lucas mode) were so frightening to me I just about cr....ed my pantaloons - the kids thought it a great joke and I had to sit there absolutely shit scared and frightened watching in awe and horror at what was being played out in front of me, the animals were fighting and groaning and making the most horrible noises I had ever heard....wow!!!! Now you wouldn't believe it this movie effected me so much that when ever I got sick or had a fever or was upset for the following 15 odd years I would dream about this movie

At the end of the movie which I am positive was 2 hours minimum long I was shaking so badly and so pale that they did have a moment of guilt and said I had eaten too may milk duds....yeah rite!!! hadn't swallowed my own saliva let alone any lollies "milk duds" my arse

Next assimilation was that we moved on - there are gods in the heavens - I still have feelings of hate for those kids who made my life totally miserable - their dog as I said was their only saving grace. Wonder what ever happened to them NO I don't actually care

My mother couldn't even go to bat for me as she had no idea what I had seen that could have upset me so much so that was pretty much a no go area and the American parents just said it was probably just a little too long or loud for me (poor lil ol me.....)

We had become friends with a few people on the ship in other words mum had become friendly and they hadn't minded me well there was this mature couple from Bakersfield and they had asked us to go and stay with them for a week or so. Now we had to fit in all sorts of things in the couple of months between ships as we were booked on the Mariposa to come home....remember this guys?

Bakersfield - HOT as HELL I had never experienced heat like it not up the Death Valley standard but pretty damn close. It was only January but they were having a hot spell...now this couple were lovely Fred and Fran Williams (fancy that remembering their names) and they had grown up children and lived in a very moderate house in Bakersfield and the trip on the Monterey was their retirement treat. She was an amazing baker and I had my first ever lesson with a bunt cake with Fran. We found their house interesting as there were bathrooms for every bedroom and outside was different as well no fences and every house kind of ran together with one lawn...don't know how it all worked then but understand now. They had the most magnificent tree at the bottom of their yard and I knew what it was - heaven help me - a walnut tree. I spend considerable time under this tree as we stayed with them which I will always remember as a treat.

Now Fred was a pilot and had a small Piper Cessna plane (sp) so he, my mother and myself would go to the local airport and get in his plane and off we would fly into the sunset...lol not!!!! I remember the entire area as they were building the water canals and it was like a patchwork quilt - totally awesome. So long ago

I do have stored here somewhere lots of slides which I must get out and sort so that you can see what I am talking about I have originals from mum's kodak of these canals and the orange groves being planted etc. etc.

This little plane was noisy but we certainly covered a lot of ground. He was so quiet and flew us all over the place. Even went to Apple Valley which you could only fly into then...don't know about now. Must google and find out.

We hopped across the San Fernando Valley days at a time and had smooth and bumpy rides....takes me back. Now I would be worried that Fred (a) was too old to fly and could have had a heart attack and/or (b) that he was flirting with my mother....that's too dark to go to.....lol

They had just taken up their local car dealers offer for one of the new Cadillac cars the 1959 model with the huge fins out the back. Got to drive up to San Francisco in this with air-conditioning and huge long wide seats (no seat belts) and you slid across when you went around a corner not that there were many as we were mainly driving on Route 101 highway.....seen lots of pile ups on that highway as well over time. And ofcourse drove into S.F. past the Rose Bowl. Doubt it still is there. Remember asking Fred what was it and he said a ball park and I was none the wiser............hehehehehe

They took us back into San Francisco via Fresno, Menlo Park and San Jose which all became much more well know by us than you could ever imagine....alluding to something that happened that has affected me all my life. We settled into the San Franciscan Hotel just behind the St. Francis Hotel in Geary Street on the 11th floor in a room with a cupboard which was also a kitchen with a one element stove - this is for a later blog I can still make an entire meal on one element.

Then my mother and I started the serious part of our trip the shopping at all the various large department stores. Here in Auckland we had two Smith & Caugheys (still going) and Milne & Choyce (long gone) within walking distance of our hotel and dotted around and close to Union Square were the following: City of Paris, I Magnin, Joseph Magnin, Macys, Sacks Fifth Ave, The White House and one other that I can't quite remember the name of.

On the corner of Powell and Geary was the Matson Line office which was the headquarters for the ships and on the other corner opposite the St. Francis was a coffee shop during the day and bar at night....Can see it in my minds eye but can't remember the name of it. Googled around the streets of S.F. not that long ago and something I didn't know was there. That was the corner where you could purchase the San Francisco Chronicle every day including weekend where they had coloured COMICS - wow, Oh, fantastic, bliss this place was just soooo kewl.

Near to us were a few other places as well some of which I would imagine have long gone but some are still there. The Manx Hotel, The Sir Francis Drake and ofcourse on top of the hill The Fairmont and the other one opposite (hard drive is down can't remember it) which had a Scottish theme bar in 1959. Trader Vic's restaurant and China Town. All will be revealed in more blogs later in the week.

We went to meet with the New Zealand Consulate General who eventually was to be of great assistance to both me and my mother in our time of trial.....

Nite all