Back Home Again ( Part 3 and Part 4 )

                                           Back Home Again (part 3)
                                                    5546 McVickers

A Visit to my other Grandmother’s House

 

This is my favorite picture of my Mom holding me up. It was taken in 1945. Oh, to be able to start over again.

This is the same view taken 48 years later.

June 10th 1994

I stopped off at 5546 N, McVickers, Nana and Papa’s house. That’s my grandparents. They were living here when I was first born on Mason so I thought I would stop by. This is where that picture was taken with my Mom when I was…she was holding me up. So I thought I would stop by and take a look at it.

                                                                              

_______________________________________________________

Back Home Again ( Part 4 )

7516 W. Devon

Big Boys Don’t Wear Rubber Pants

June 10th 1994

   I’m at 7516 W. Devon. This is the second place I lived. And I was thirteen months and I lived here until I was 4 years old. I remember a lot more here. I think this is the happiest place I lived, with all the love and caring my mom gave to me. I had some good memories here.

 

I can still picture my Mom’s face looking down at me while she changed my diaper. Mom was always smiling and laughing at me. What a great memory I have of her back then. I can picture her taking off my rubber baby pants and unpinning my wet diaper. She would get a new one and take my two little feet and lift me up, sliding it underneath me. She’d clean me off and sprinkle Johnson’s Baby Powder all over my little penis and my bottom. Even today, the smell of baby powder sends me back in time to those wonderful days. Then mom would pull my diaper up between my legs and pin each side. She would get a pair of clean rubber baby pants and put my two feet in the openings and slide those soft smooth rubber baby pants down my legs. Mom would have to stand me up and finish pulling them up around my waist until they fit snug against my diaper. Then she would give me a love pat on the bottom of my rubber baby pants and say, “There, you’re all done.” 

    One day my aunt came over. My mom was pregnant again and my aunt said that she should take me out of diapers. “You don’t want to have two babies in diapers?” Mom thought I wasn’t ready yet. I had just turned two years old. But my aunt had convinced her. The next thing I remember I was standing out on the front steps wearing these brown corduroy pants. All of a sudden I could feel something running down my legs. I had wet my pants. I started crying and mom came and got me. She told my aunt that maybe I took him out of diapers to soon. My aunt said, “No you didn’t,” anyway I never did get my diapers back.

 I was playing and mom had left the basement door open. She was doing the laundry and I went down to explore. At the bottom of the stairs, I came across a box full of my baby clothes. I started looking through them and suddenly I found my rubber baby pants. I took them out of the box and took my pants off. I wanted my rubber baby pants back again. So I put them on the best I could. I didn’t have any diapers but I wouldn’t know how put them on even if I had them. Mom came down the stairs looking for me. She found me standing there in my top and rubber pants. She said, “What have you got on?” She looked at me and said, “Big boys don’t wear rubber pants,” and took them off of me. I started crying that I wanted them. I guess I put up a pretty big fuss about them because my dad reminded me of that incident later on in my life when I was married. I tried to look through that same box again but mom must have thrown them away. I couldn’t find them. And that was the end of my rubber pants.

         

  Around that same time, my mom and dad were getting ready to go out for the evening. I wandered into their bedroom to see what was going on. My mom was standing there doing something and I walked up to her and put my little 2-year-old arm around her. My arm only reached around her bottom. I felt her and said, “Mommy your wearing rubber pants. I want to wear rubber pants too.” She said, “That’s my girdle,” and took me out of her room and closed the door.       

 I remember she used to take me for a walk in the stroller to go down the street and around the corner and in the back there was a lot of prairie back here. A lot of woods and trees and it was nice, I liked that, I remember that. I remember the trees and how peaceful it was back here.

  I remember I’d wake up in the morning and wait for Mom to come in my room and I’d stand up in my crib and just wait for her to come in and she’d come in and I used to be so happy to see her. I used to jump up and down I remember that. And she’d smile and I’d smile. That was great. After she changed me, I always knew what was next. Mom brought me down into the kitchen and put me into the high chair. I had the regular kind of baby cereal but it was the fruit that came out of the jars that I remember the best. My favorite was fruit desert with tapioca. I even bought a couple of jars while I was doing this part of my memoir just to see if it tasted the same. It was just as good as I remembered. 

  One time she was tacking down carpeting in the bedroom upstairs. And I came in and I saw this little bolt and picked it up and put it in my mouth and swallowed it and my Mom thought that I swallowed one of the tacks. So she rushed me to the hospital and they took x-rays and they find out it’s just a little bolt. And I finally pooped it out a couple of days later. Everything was ok. My Mom was really upset. They thought I would have to have an operation and everything.  I still have that little bolt that my mother saved in my baby book.

  I’m looking at the steps now, outside. I remember one night, Mom and Dad and me just sat on the steps and looked up at the stars and there wasn’t all this traffic all the time. And across the street there were no houses. It was just a great big long field, a great big prairie.

  Is this ever cool, I took the car and I went the way I thought my Mom used to push me in the carriage to the train station. The train station is way in the back. And I take the streets and all of a sudden I remember EVERYTHING. There’s a park here and I look in the back and I recognize the street and then I turn the corner around by the park here and THERE’S THE TRAIN. But in those days, they had the great big coal trains and they’d bellow out this great big black smoke and just go CHA-CHUM, CHA-CHUM and you could hear it. Now they got the crummy diesels. And you could smell the smoke from the trains, I remember that. Oh, this is neat!

I remember my Mom pushing me in the stroller down this side walk past the park. After you make a right turn at the corner, you can see the train tracks. That was so cool to see the big old trains going by belching out big black clouds of smoke.

 I didn’t see too much of my Dad in this house. In fact the first house he was in the service. He was over in the Pacific in the Philippines during World War II. So on Mason ave, I never saw my Dad until I guess I was a year old. And when he came home, that’s when we moved over here to Devon ave. Even on Devon ave, I really didn’t see him that much. I just remember every once in a while I’d see him. He was always gone, working I guess or whatever. So I guess that’s why I’m close to my Mom cause I was around her all the time. During this time, Jeanne was born, that’s my sister and I don’t remember too much about her either, except I remember saying, “When is she going to grow up so I can play with her.” So I guess my Mom was....when she was born my Mom started taking care of her.

 This house was interesting. After I took a look at the house and followed the way that my Mom would push me past the park and to see the train and just all the memories of love and everything. If I had a choice of staying any were in time, I’d want to stay in this time, at this place, it was the happiest for me. I’m recording this on June 10th 1994, I’m 48 years old now. I’ve only come to the second house and I don’t know if I want to go any further then this because as I get older, the memories get worse. Well, around 11 or 12 they get worse. So, my next house is OK but I really like this one the best.

 (On my recording, I have Olivia Newton John singing out my memories of this house with the song, “When you Wish Upon a Star”) 

Back Home Again (Part 2 )

 

 Back Home Again (Part 2.)

( 1st Home on Mason Ave)

June 10th 1994

I’m at my first house on Mason ave. This is the house I was born in. Don’t remember too much. I know I was born here and stayed here for 13 months. I do remember one incident, I don’t know how old I was but I remember Mom, aunt Marie and everybody bringing me into the bathroom and giving me a bath in one of those bathinettes. That’s the only thing I can re....Oh one other thing. They had this basket, a baby basket where you take a nap in it and I remember they used to put me this thing and I couldn’t see out of the sides. When I was laying in the bottom of it, I couldn’t see anybody. I didn’t like that at all, I remember that. Other then that, I don’t remember to much at my first house.

Later on, about 13 years from now , my mom will tell me a story of how grandpa sold a house. They used to build houses and he sold a house on the weekend and the guy paid cash for it. He used his gold coin collection to pay for it. The banks were closed on the weekends, so he brought the gold home and hid it in the house and when the bank opened on the week day, he forgot where he hid it and as far as anybody knows the gold is still hidden in the house someplace. That’s the story my Mom gave me. Mom said it’s buried in the back yard, I asked uncle Bill, he said it’s behind the fireplace in the basement. Mom told me that Aunt Marie thought it was in the attic. I have a feeling my Mom is right. But that’s the story. Mom said that there was $20,000 in gold coins. So you can imagine what it’s worth today. Well, that about all I can remember at this house.

 

Mason Ave, The house I was born in.

Phillippines
Aug 29th, 1945

Hello Billy

Welcome to our happy little family and to this great big world, I haven’t met you outside of a few kicks you gave me before you entered this world but I got a picture of you today and you’re quite a little guy. I’m proud of you. As your mother had probably told you, I’m in the army now but it won’t be long until I get home and concentrate on being a good father to you. You will never remember it but you will have served a few months in the army yourself and I hope that is all you will ever serve. That is what all these men fought and died for, was to make your life and other little guys like you, have a better place to live in.

It’s all over now, so it’s up to you to make it stay good when you grow up. You have a good start in live life except for having me for an old man. But with the mother and the grandparents you should be able to overcome that handicap. I promise to do everything I can to be good father to you. So keep this letter. If I ever go astray, it’s sort of a contract. Until we meet Billy, take care of your mother for us and give her a big kiss for me, will you?
Goodnight Billy
Your Dad 

P.S. I hope you like me.
“Yeah Dad, I certainly did like you.”

 

My Dad wrote me this letter while he was in the Philippines. He hadn't seen me yet.

Back Home Again (Part 1)

The Beginning of My Life

What a great idea

1995

This evening I came across my baby book I have saved all these years and found some wonderful pictures of my mom and myself. My imagination was boundless as I started thinking back to my childhood and all the loving memories. I wanted to relive those times.

Dan Briel, an old real estate manager of mine shared his idea with me some time back about putting down on tape his life story. “What a great idea,” I said as it popped into my mind, to relive my childhood on tape.

I plan to start recording my life today. I’m going out and stopping in front of every home I have ever lived in. That way I will be able to remember more details. 

 

                                                The Beginning of My Life


My mother (Eleanor) had a sister (Marie) and they were both pregnant at the same time. It starts off with a letter exactly as my Grandmother wrote it, to my Dad in the Philippines during World War II.


Everybody was pregnant at the same time. Here from left to right are Dorthey Gallager(My Aunt) Marie Pisors (my Mom's sister) Eleanor Kaufman (That's my Mom and I'm inside of her there somewhere) and then Helen McCabe Stanger. I don't know who she is pregnant with but this picture was taken in 1945.





Chicago Illinois
Aug 10th 1945


Dear Bob:

I am writing you this letter while listening to the radio reports, that are coming from all over the world, the news of Japans offer to surrender if we will recognize the sovereignty of the Emperor. If that is all they want there seems little to argue about so we surely can expect peace within a short time. Gee won’t that be something and then you can come home to that little family of yours. And is it some family. Eleanor’s eye’s just shine with the thrill of motherhood and yesterday when I was there with Marie I went in to her room and she was nursing the baby and it sure looked wonderful to see them. El says throw away the bottles(I don’t need them) and I certainly hope she is right as it will be so much better for the baby if she can nurse him for awhile.

We sure had some excitement around here this last week. Both girls were getting so tired of waiting and the time seemed to drag along so for them. Last Saturday night Dad took us all to the show to see Barbary Coast. It was a beautiful technicolor picture and we enjoyed it immensely. We got home about 11:30 o’clock and the girls wanted to know what else they could do to hurry things along, Marie was going to take here second dose of castor oil in three days to start things moving. Eleanor had taken one on the previous Monday and the Doctor had told her to follow it up on Thursday if nothing happened. Eleanor was so determined that she was going to help nature all she could ( the real reason was that Dr Wexler was leaving on his vacation on Monday and she wanted things over by then) so without telling us she had gone upstairs and taken another dose ( 2oz at a time ). Well then we decided we would go for a walk, it was around midnight then so the three of us Marie Eleanor and I went on a hike, up Elston Avenue, over to Milwaukee on Peterson, up to Miami back across Elston Ave and around to Marmora and back home again. Seemed as though we must have walked two miles in all. Back home we all retired for the night but around 2:30 Eleanor called that the water had broken and she was having regular pains and they were about two minutes apart. Of Course we all got excited and I wanted her to put on a robe over her gown but nothing doing she was going to be fully dressed and have her hair combed before she left. I am going to try to describe just what happened from there on as I know you are wondering just what happened and I sure am sorry that you could not have been with her. She was a regular little brick and was so determined that she was going through without hollering too much.

Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago were I was born.


We checked in at the hospital at 3:05 on the morning of August the Fifth, 1945. Dad had driven Eleanor and I over but hurried back to be with Marie because with all the excitement she felt pains coming on too. A nurse came down and took Eleanor up stairs to the labor room while I waited down at the office to register her. ( I was so excited I couldn’t even remember what year she was born in or how old she was. I just wanted to get up stairs in a hurry. On getting upstairs I found that they had taken El into the labor room and the nurse said she would call me as soon as possible. Around four o’clock the nurse said I could go in and sit with Eleanor. She was in great pain. they were coming about every minute. One would hardly leave when another one would come. The nurse came in every half hour to examine her and said she was doing nicely, that at 5 o’clock she was more then half open and that the baby would be born at about 7 o’clock. (We had called Dr Wexler and he said he would be there just as soon as the nurse called him from the hospital.) Eleanor just lay there from then on moving her head from side to side she kept saying OH----Oh-----Oh. About this time it began to rain real hard outside and El and I watched the day break. We could hardly see the roofs across the street at first and finally they began to emerge out of the rain and the darkness. In between the pains she would smile. Suppose that was the anticipation of the coming arrival. The nurse had told Eleanor the last time she examined her that everything was going fine and then the next time she came something had happened and although she still had the pains they were not doing any good. She called the house physician around seven o’clock and he came in and examined her and then sent for Dr Wexler. At 7:45 Sunday morning they took her into the delivery room and from then on I sure sweated it out. I was alone and could not go down stairs to telephone for fear they would call me. Wexler arrived just before 8 o’clock and came out and talked to me after seeing Eleanor. He said she was OK but things just had slowed up and we would have to wait for nature to take it’s course. Around about that time Dr went to make his room calls and he was back about 9 o’clock again. Still nothing. At 10 o’clock he called in another Doctor–Dr Timmerman who Dr had said was a great obstetrician & the one who will take care of Marie if she does not deliver before Dr Wexler leaves tomorrow.
(As it happened)
Andrew arrived to be with me and am I glad to have someone with me. Seems good to have someone to talk to although there is a husband here now waiting for his wife and I have been talking to him for the past hour or so. Andrew is pacing the floor for you so he can know what it is like now and it will be good practice for him when his arrives. I just talked to the head nurse and she tries to re-assure me saying that the trouble is that they took Eleanor in too soon but I know better I know that something has gone wrong. We are standing in the hall now so we can look into the corridor that leads to the delivery room.

10:20 AM August 5th, 1945

After conferring with Dr Timmerman, Dr Wexler came out to talk to us and he says that they will probably have to help Eleanor a little as things do not seem to be moving as they should. I heard later that they had decided to wait until noon and if something did not happen they would operate. Dr says it will not have to be a cesarean.


12:00 AM


Dr Wexler is back again--- Says we will have to have a little more patience- Says the woman in our family just don’t have their babies easy.

The folks at home are getting worried and are phoning but I have no news for them.

1:30 o’clock

There is quiet a bit of activity in the room. Now another doctor arrives. The nurses are all putting on their masks– Something must be going to happen.
1:45 PM
Dr Wexler is back again and is now putting on his white coat and mask and at 1:50 PM he came out to explain just what they are going to have to do. He tries to explain that the babies head is wedged in and they just cannot turn it--- He says it fits like a piece of a cross word puzzle (of course he uses medical terms but thinks we can understand it easier-- He says the head is just locked in and cannot come out any further. They are going to have to cut in order that the baby may be born. He goes back in and from then on we all stand looking through the glass door wondering just what is happening as we can only see the hallway leading to the delivery room

2:15 PM

Everything is as quiet as can be- You would not know that anyone is in there at all.

3: PM Dr Timmerman comes out and asks for Mrs Kaufman’s mother and said that Dr Wexler wanted him to say that the baby was born and Eleanor is OK. Gee what a relief. I asked what it was and he said gee I don’t remember Oh yes I think it was a boy. He must have been helping Dr as the sweat is dripping from his face and he is wiping off his head and arms as he goes down the hall.

We are still standing in the hall watching as I do not want Andrew to go down to telephone to the folks at home until I am sure just what the baby is. A BOY or A GIRL.


When Dr Wexler comes out he assures us that everything is going to be alright, that Eleanor is OK and that although they had to cut in order to get the baby out she has been all closed up again and that it is a nice neat job. We sure feel a lot better now.

Then the nurse comes out with your SON and is he a bouncing baby boy. His hands are almost as big as a two year olds and his head is exceptionally large. I think he looks like your Dad but they all say he is just like you. We even compared his feet prints today and what do you think his second toe is just like the Kaufman’s. Eleanor is going to have the nurse make a set of foot prints for you so I suppose you will soon be looking at them yourself. The baby was born at 2:20 Sunday afternoon.

I sent Andrew down stairs to telephone to the folks at home and they were all thrilled about the way things came out. I had planned that we would call your mother and have her with us but as we left in the middle of the night and it seemed such a rush case I didn’t get to call her until then. Eleanor said she thought that would be better as she would worry and we thought we would call her when it was all over.

Well they finally wheeled Eleanor’s bed out of the delivery room and as soon as I could I went in to see her. She was pretty sick and they had given her gas for an anesthetic. It was some time before she knew what it was all about. Andrew went home and called your Mother to come down to the hospital. In just a few minutes she was there and she stayed with El while I went back home with your Dad. I was just about famished by that time as there was no place to get a bite to eat and it was a long hard day.

You can be real proud of your little boy--did I say little--I meant big boy. I filled out the announcement cards and mailed them right away. Will enclose one for you I think they are real cute.

Thursday morning we took Marie to the hospital for her baby and she came through fine. We got there about five o’clock in the morning and her baby was born at 8:36 AM. We thought yours was big but she topped it with a 8lbs and 9 oz boy. She would have to do that.

The nurses were very nice and have moved both girls into one room. It sure makes it nice for them to be together especially since neither one of you or Al can be there.

Since starting this letter I went to the hospital and when I went upstairs what do you suppose there is Ray Bhring and his wife leave it to Ray. He fixed it up with the head nurse so they could visit the girls. They only allow one visitor per patient a day.

They issue a white card for the Fathers and your mother and I are making good use of it. She is the father in the evening and I am the father in the afternoon. There always seems to be a different nurse on duty and they don’t know the difference between us.

Sure glad you newsletters keep coming as they keep Eleanor’s spirits up while she is in the hospital.

Your Dad is as proud as a peacock of his new grandson. We can all hardly wait until we can take him home. Wish you could be here for his first bath. That is really something. I thought Eleanor would be disappointed because she did not have a girl but she says she wouldn’t have anything else but what she has now, I got white christening outfits for all of the new babies but now but now Eleanor wants me to take them back and exchange hers and Marie’s for real boys outfits with rompers. Well back they go as soon as I can get around to it.

Al is trying to get a three day pass and is going to fly home this coming week end.

Well I guess I have told you everything, I tried t keep notes so that I could write you so you would know just what happened. Loads of love and I sure hope that the reports we are hearing on the air do not blow up and maybe you will be home again before you know it.

Loads of love and congratulations and many thanks for giving me such a fine grandson.

MOM



“Yea, I’m finally born and did I ever get a Great Mom, You should see her.”

13 Days Old

Believe it or not, I remember laying in this basket. I didn't like it because I couldn't see out of the sides and see my Mom.

“Now This is Exciting"

"Now This is Exciting"

…I said to Brad as I sat in this Brand new 2017 Chevy Malibu. Brad is my guy (or salesman as some people would say) who got me into my first brand new Chevrolet Malibu back in December of 2015. You can read about it in this link   

http://5billdice.blogspot.com/2015/12/somehow-everything-seems-to-work-out.html 

It has been a Year and a half since and I only have 6 months left until I had to return my leased 2016 Chevy Malibu. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was sure it would cost more than I could afford this coming Dec but the last time they had a lot of incentives and discounts so maybe they would have the same thing. I didn’t know what I was going to do. Then Brad called this June and told me that they had a great deal on the new 2017 Chevy Malibu. It sounded good but I already had a new 2016 Malibu and I didn’t want to turn it in early and end up paying more. So I told him I didn’t know what I was going to do. I wondered if I could buy my 2016 Malibu at the end of the lease. 

 About a week later I get this ad about the deals they had. In the meantime I got a call from my son on Fathers Day. He told me that he had just leased a brand new Chevy Malibu. “It’s blue Dad with Black leather interior.” He was all excited and told me all the new features it had on it. “Yeah I just got a call from my guy at Wickstrom Chevrolet and he sent me an ad telling me that I could trade in my leased Malibu early and get a new one. I’m not sure though,” I told my son. “Well there’s a coupon at the bottom of that ad. They will give you $50 for test driving a new car. Why don’t you just test drive it,” my son told me. “Alright, I’ll do it,” I replied.

 

So this past Thursday I went over to talk to Brad at Wickstrom Chevrolet and take a test drive in the new 2017 Malibu. When I walked in the showroom I asked for Brad. The salesman manager said. “It’s his day off can I help you?” I gave him the ad that I brought with me and explained that I wanted to take a test drive. We talked and I told him all about myself. I told him what I wanted. “I’d like to test drive the new Malibu. Do you have any in white?” He looked on the computer and found a white one with all the same things I had in my present Malibu. One of the other salesmen got the keys and I got behind the wheel. It was nice. “On a scale of 1 thru 10 what would you give this car,” he asked me. I thought about it and told him, “I give it a 9.” I liked it but there was something about it.

  When we got back the sales manager went over the price of the lease. He ended up giving me such a great deal that it was almost hard to walk away from but there was still something I couldn’t put my finger on. I went back and forth in my mind whether or not to go thru with this or not. I ended up walking away. “Call me Tuesday,” the manager said. 

 When I got home I was so confused. “Should I wait until December or lease this new Malibu now. Since my son had just gotten his new Malibu, I called him. We were talking it over and suddenly I realized, “It’s the interior. I don’t like the interior of the car I test drove. It had a light interior” I told my son. My present 2016 is white on the outside with black interior. “I love my car,” I said to my son. That night I couldn’t go to sleep. I kept going back and forth in my mind. I didn’t want to lease something I wasn’t 100% sure I liked. I think I slept about 3 hours. The next morning I went over to see Brad at the dealership. I saw that he was with a customer so I went back home. The following day Brad called and said, “I saw you yesterday.” “I know but you were with a customer.” “Bill, you are never going to get a better than the one the sales manager gave you.” “I know. I like the car but I wish it had a black interior just like the one I have now. I loved my car,” I told him. “We Have a White Malibu with Black interior Bill,” he said excitedly. I was still in bed when he called me but now I was wide awake. “Give me an hour and I’ll be right over. I brought my down payment with me just in case. I met Brad and we got in the same car I test drove the other day and drove over to where the other Malibu was with the black interior. I wanted to see both Malibu’s next to each other. Well hell when I saw the Malibu with the black interior there was no comparison. This Malibu even had these fancy ninja looking wheels that really set it off. We got in the car and Brad sat next to me while he explained a few things about the car to me. “I looked around the inside of the car and said, “Now this is exciting. YOU GOT a DEAL,” I said to Brad. I was thrilled.

    

Second Presidental Debate warning

Tonight is the second presidential debate. So before it starts, I want to give them a warning. We don't want to hear about your sexual lives. We want to hear the two of you discuss the issues our country. 

"Hey Hillery and Trump, while you two are arguing about who screwed who, our country is going up in flames. STOP IT!!! And get on with discussing and solving the issues of this country."

Electing a US President in Plain English

Someone asked me about this today so I thought I would post this 3:42 minute video that explains how a president is elected.