Don’t Pay The Ransom, We Escaped!

With the rise of self-driving vehicles, it’s only a matter of time before we get a country song where a guy’s truck leaves him too!

We got up and started moving around 8:00 AM and then got ready to visit Kaye again at 10:00 AM. It was a super morning! It was a short four mile drive. In the daylight I recognized streets and sights from my time I spent with Cousin Tom in Stockton as a youth!

More fun…her mind does get confused but she remembers a lot of things that recall and sometimes fills in the blanks.

Every time I think of the years that I did not get to know Kaye better, I could kick myself. In my previous “life”, having family around was not tolerated…but that is in the past. Having Sue around who loves family and visiting is so very special!

My kids, Robin, Michele, Joe, and Colleen are now writing Aunt Kaye and sending cards which she really appreciates! I show them videos of Aunt Kaye reminiscing about times gone bye…so important.

We Talked A Lot About The 1950’s:

• • • Pasta had not been invented. It was macaroni or spaghetti.
    • Curry was a surname.
    • Taco ? Never saw one till I was 15.
    • All chips were plain.
    • Oil was for lubricating, fat was for cooking.
    • Tea was made in a teapot using tea leaves and never green.
    • Cubed sugar was regarded as posh.
    • Chickens didn’t have fingers in those days.
    • None of us had ever heard of yogurt.
    • Healthy food consisted of anything edible!
    • Cooking outside was called camping.
    • Seaweed was not a recognized food.
    • ‘Kebab’ was not even a word… never mind a food.
    • Sugar enjoyed a good press in those days, and was regarded as being white gold.
    • Prunes were medicinal and stewed.
    • Surprisingly Muesli was readily available. It was called cattle feed.
    • Pineapples came in chunks or were round with a hole in the middle, in a tin; we had only ever seen a picture of a real one.
    • Water came out of the tap. If someone had suggested bottling it and charging more than gasoline for it, they would have become a laughingstock.
    • There were three things that we never ever had on/at our table in the fifties . . . . . . . . elbows, hats and cell phones !

We visited until about noon and then headed to the freeway but we stopped at El Torito for a quick lunch. We had planned to take Kaye out to lunch but the weather was in the 40’s and we didn’t want to take a chance of getting a bug… another trip is in the near future!

Did You Know? El Torito was founded by Larry J. Cano, who gives the restaurant credit for popularizing the margarita in the United States. Cano served several tours in Europe and in Korea, got a business degree and worked as a bartender. When the bar’s owner died, the widow asked Cano if he wanted it.

Then…zooooom! I stayed up with traffic and that was scary! I looked down and was going 85 and people were passing me! The car liked going fast as we got 27 MPG on the way home. The road was quite pretty as the ground was all green and some of the expected wildflowers were staring to come forward.

We got home about 7:45 PM and watched TV for a while then it was time to crash. Spending eight hours on the road is tiring!