Create Our World

The morning after. Hostel Cat in San Diego.

“We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”  ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Photographs from my first walk of the New Year in downtown San Diego.

Early Morning Walks.

One of my favorite past times in a new city is too explore in the morning.  January 1st, 2010 at around 8am, I am inspired.  

The sun rises on my back as I head the few blocks to the Gas Lamp.  This is the central downtown street.  Remnants of last nights revelry is everywhere.  Shiney New Years hats are squashed and scattered in trash cans and gutters.  Paper streamers are dingy and wet, now stuck to the sidewalk.  Footprints from the wanders last night and this morning squished in the paper.  

The only folks that are out and about are the homeless.  

I grab a large cup of coffee at a Chinese restaurant and wander through the streets photographing anything that grabs my interest.  

I wonder what this New Year will hold.

Create Our World.

Ben

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year.  It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes.  Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions.  Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.”  ~G.K. Chesterton

My Great Aunt Betty and her friend, Barney in Yuma, Arizona.

 ”Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.”  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

I spent another day with Aunt Betty and roamed her senior co-operative trying to play shuffle board.  Our goal today though was to set up her up with an email account.  We had failed last night.

Trying Gmail first...

Teaching Aunt Betty Email.

Her sons and daughters pitched in on a computer for my Great Aunt Betty.  Also, a video phone.  They want to keep in touch better.  

Aunt Betty has never used a computer before.  Everything is new.  It took us two days and numerous hours to teach Aunt Betty how to set up an email account and send out a few messages.  

It was like learning a new language.  It gave me perspective on this very complicated device that I just take for granted.  I couldn’t help but wonder what device my great nephew will be teaching me one day.

Riding through the neighborhood on Betty's electric moped.

Betty's personalized scooter.

The Co-op.

New Year’s Eve is tomorrow and San Diego is about 200 miles away.  I am leaving early to try to meet up with my friends, Dave and Hope and ring in the New Year after dipping my body in the Pacific Ocean.

Create Our World.

Ben

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”  ~Chinese Proverb

 

My Great Aunt Betty and I at the Yuma Territorial Prison.

We all grow up with the weight of history on us.  Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies.  ~Shirley Abbott

Today’s and tomorrow’s posts will be about my time with my Great Aunt Betty.  She lives in Yuma and we have only met each other a few times.

Welcome to Yuma and the Wintergarden’s Co-op.

“This is Ben.  Oliver’s son.  Do you remember me?....”  

My Betty did remember me, although we haven’t seen each other in at least 10 years, probably more.  She isn’t up to anything today and enthusiastically invites me over.  

Wintergardens Co-op.

Aunt Betty lives in the Wintergarden’s Co-operative.  You must be over 55 years old to live here.  Val drops me off right in the driveway.  Wintergarden’s Co-op is like a college dorm for senior citizens.  And change the college dorm to mobile home park.  I cause a little scene unknowingly as senior citizens passing me all are curious and inquisitive as to why I am here.  

My Great Aunt Betty story gets me off the hook and I find her trailer quickly.

My Great Aunt Betty.

She is my grandfather’s sister.  Betty says I look a lot like him.  She tells me stories of my father and how much she loves him as we catch up in her living room.  Her living room has photographs of kids and grandkids.  A very clean sofa and a large screen television.  

I feel comfortable and happy to be around family and talk of familiar people.

We go to eat at the Happy Chef restaurant.  It is popular with senior citizens and has great food.  As we arrive, the Happy Chef has turned to the Mad Chef.  New management, I guess. 

Aunt Betty reads up about Pearl Hart. A woman poet and bandit, whom was eventually caught with her boyfriend. He was convicted to 30 years, while she was acquitted. Later, the jury rethought and gave her 5 years.

Yuma Territorial Prison.

After lunch, Betty wants to show me the sights so we go to the nearby Territorial Prison.  Aunt Betty loves all the information about his old prison.  

Back in 1876, the first seven inmates had to build the prison themselves.  It was open for 33 years and has photographs and information on the prisoners and events of its lifetime.  Prisoners were jailed for selling liquor to the Native Americans, burglary, murder, and adultery.  The cells are small and primitive, encased in thick rock.  The Dark Cell is where you go if you are bad.  Dark like the name, with bread and water, you get thrown in here if you try to escape, try to get into the opposite sex quarters, or are rude to the guards.  

We wander and read the information.  Both of us decide we would be good as not to get chucked in the Dark Cell.  It is spooky.  

California is across the river and there are mountains to the north.  It is a beautiful time spent with a long since visited relative.  

Later that night and the next day we attempt to set up Aunt Betty with an email account.  It is a learning experience.

Create Our World.

Ben

“You don’t choose your family.  They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.” ~Desmond Tutu