The relationship and the marriage and the life of Phyllis and Brian was an equal partnership! I know, because I was heard to say on more than one occasion,…
In 1964 Mike Montejo, a tile contractor who did tile work for us, told us that his wife Happy Montejo, who was a real estate broker, had a couple of lots for…
In 1975 Phyllis and I bought a houseboat. Phyllis had been wanting a houseboat. Phyllis liked to be “right on the water.” When we went traveling in our…
It is September 3rd 2009. In six days it will be nine months since my beautiful, wonderful Phyllis was taken from me.
I have been told about how the hurt and…
In the late spring of 1944 I was drafted into the Navy. Draftees always went into the Army. The Navy was all volunteer. I was drafted into the Navy because I…
I designed Phyllis’ grave marker. It is really “our” grave marker because I’m on it too. All that is missing for me is my “date of death,” which at present is…
Phyllis worked in the office as a receptionist, a secretary, a bookkeeper and a good buddy to anyone who came in and wanted to talk, of which there were many.…
In the fall of 1958, after going through quite a period of suffering from “female trouble,” Phyllis reluctantly decided that surgery was the only solution. She…
This is two stories in one. They tie together. We were water skiing at Lake Isabella with our little P14 with the 45 horse outboard motor. Our skier had fallen…
Phyllis and her stepmother, Maxine, had a very good relationship. They were good friends and Phyllis and I looked after Maxine after Phyllis’ father died. We…
Over the years both Phyllis and I, when the weather allowed, went barefoot around the house quite a bit.
Since my feet were bare quite a lot, I developed…
In late summer of 2008 Phyllis said that she would like to host another Kiwanis installation. This is a special Kiwanis dinner meeting where the following…
For quite some time as an ongoing thing I made bouquets for Phyllis from the flowers and greenery and native growth in our yard.
Last fall, two or three…
When I started these writings I had planned to tell my memories just as they were so that they would be real memories not doctored up, watered down versions of…
I was making something and I needed a piece of smooth plastic about four inches square and about one eight inch thick. I had been through all the stuff in the…
Phyllis had a cute little characteristic which I have never seen in anyone else. Sometimes she would laugh while she was talking. It made her kind of hard to…
SIX MONTHS HAVE PAST, JUST HALF A YEARSINCE YOU WERE TAKEN FROM ME DEAR
THOUGH THESE MONTHS ARE PAST AND GONETHE PAIN AND SADNESS LINGER ON
ALL THROUGH THE…
2009
WE HAD IT ALL
“We had it all.” Those words tell it.
There’s no way I can tell all of the things we had. There were so many. These are a few of…
My beautiful Phyllis died December 12, 2008, from Alzheimer’s disease. The disease was kinder to Phyllis than it usually is to its victims, in that her decline…
2008
This hurt was certainly not intended by me. Rather than causing hurt it was my intention to protect her. I may have misinterpreted the remark that she…
2005
In late September 2005, Phyllis and I and a whole lot of other people attended a fund raiser sponsored by the High Desert Community Foundation, of which…
This is not a fun story, as most of them have been, but it is part of the memories.
On November 5, 2005, Phyllis had a shoulder replacement. She had been…
1997
In 1972 Phyllis and I built a house for Lenny Brewster. It is a big, rambling, rustic, ranch house on a hill on 13 acres of native desert. Lenny and I…
1996
This is one of my favorite stories because it was one of Phyllis’ favorite stories. She liked to tell the story of how she got the dogs and when she…
1954
This story begins with seemingly unrelated events coming together to cause what happened to happen.
Event number one:
In 1940, when Phyllis was 16,…
1951
This story is not entirely about Phyllis; although, she was involved in the potato farm right up to her ears in the way that it affected her family…
Daughter Margie has reminded me that Phyllis and my life together was not all mush and goo, as may have been suggested in some of my writings. Yes, we…
1949
So far there have been several stories that start with: “This is probably not the kind of story that a 90 year old should be telling to his children or…
1947
Just before I was discharged from the Navy, Phyllis and Margie had gone to live with my parents. My parents lived in a rented caretaker house on a big…
1944
When I was drafted into the Navy in 1944, the first stop, as with all recruits, was Boot Camp. In boot camp the main objective was to teach the recruits…
1944
The story that I am going to tell about this memory of Phyllis is a tribute to her love, loyalty and demonstrated devotion to me. Som may find it too…
1942
This is a story that I’m ashamed of, but I’ll tell it anyway because it’s part of the memories and it had a happy ending.
Shortly after our marriage,…
1942
My first meeting with my future father-in-law was handled by me in a less than ideal fashion. Since I was the brother of his ex wife’s husband, Phyllis…
1941
This is another tale that 90 year olds usually don’t tell to their children or grandchildren, but since this group of stories is entitled “Memories of…
1940
This is a story that 90 year olds do not usually tell to their children and grandchildren, but my memories of Phyllis would be sadly incomplete with out…
I first met Phyllis’ mother Marge the same time that I first met Phyllis. Marge was a divorcee, age 31, who my brother, Joe age 21, was dating. I met her…
1937
There came a time when Phyllis and I began to notice each other. When I noticed that I was noticing Phyllis, I thought “But she’s just a kid!” And when…
Frequently people notice that when the conversation turns to Phyllis, I tear up and choke up, and they will say, “Oh, I’m sorry.” They feel that they have…
2009
It is March 2009 and Phyllis has been gone for almost 3 months and I still can’t talk about her. I can say things like, “Phyllis used to sit here” or…
Anniversary 67, I face it alone
For the love of my life forever is gone
My life now is full of sadness and grief
But the wonderful memories, do bring some…