1953

In this photo, I am standing next to my mother's sweet pea plants at our house on Corby Avenue in Norwalk, CA.  We lived here for a few years and I had started elementary school at D.D. Johnston.  But, after second grade, my dad decided to sell the house and move the family to Texas to be near his sister Helen's family.  We got in the car and drove to Texas as we did every summer.  I thought we were on vacation.  But this vacation was lasting for a longer time than usual and then I started third grade in Irving, Texas.  We were renting a house in Irving and Dad got a job as a long-distance trucker.  However, he found that he did not like being away from his family for long periods.  So, we drove back to California in the same year.  We lived with our grandparents in Bellflower, California for a while and I went to school there until mom and dad found another house to rent in Norwalk on Orr & Day Road.  We rented for a while but then bought our second house in Norwalk on Studebaker Road on the southwestern side of town.  I finished third grade at Anna M. Glazier elementary school.  It was the fourth school I attended in that school year.  [JAM 6/4/2000]