Importing My Past into the Present

I have decided to import and archive my writing…many years of thoughts, about life, love, networking and business. Its all a part of my journey of doing. This is going to take me a bit…so there may be some odd gaps in my time line.

Gatsby Picnic on Evening News

Love me some Mike Rowe and Gatsby Picnic!

Books

We band of Angels – Excellent. 7/8/09

Finding Self on the Golden Screen

I like movies so I have signed back for Netflix.  Movies make one think and walk in an others shoes -  fictional or factual…they extend one’s empathetic moments…and reminds one of the humanity that is around us every day.  Some choose movies as a way to escape I choose movies that make me feel “now” even more…

Today I watched Seven Pounds – Without reading any reviews  (another bloggers review) or the premise…I knew what was going to happen with this movie. It made me cry realizing the struggle of this character and how much the people he was helping helped him as well.  Made me think of Gran Torino – I had no idea what was going to happen in till the last moment and it truly struck me.  People have an ability to be selfless and do amazing things for others.  Its too bad tragedy spurs this heroism in some.

Reminds me of how precious life and love is. That you need to be present, take care of yourself, your loved ones and recognize the good people that cross your path…

Five People You Meet In Heaven…was another good one….On his birthday, Eddie, a WWII vet who worked at the Ruby Pier amusement park, dies while trying to save a girl who is sitting under a falling ride…he meets five people in heaven who help show him how valuable of a life he lived and how many people he helped…reminds me a bit of It’s a Wonderful Life…sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the day to day we aren’t present enough to realize our lives effect so many people…for better or for worse.

Bruce Weinstein Pd.D wrote a list of question to ask before you go to bed which if answered yes, will ensure a proper sleep:

1. Did I avoid Causing harm?

2. Did I make things better?

3. Did I respect others?

4. Was I fair?

5. Was I loving?

One Way Home WWII Film

Doing Make-up and Wardrobe for a WWII Film – “One Way Home”

Life on the set…vintage…modernism….Actress Rachel Amanda Bryant

More Photos

Eagle Field Fly In June 13, 2009

Eagle Field Fly In June 13, 2009. What an amazing event!  It felt like I walked back in time.  I met so many great people including several WWII vets – like Big Boy. Big boy because he was a 6′ fly boy which was really tall for the time.   I am going to come back and share the stories he told me when I have more time…

Also, won the Swing portion of the Dance contest with Nate! he says I handle like a Ferrari. Cash Prize even. Thanks to Woody and James for being my military escorts (And Ya, there is definitely ghosts out there). I also won a rotary phone in the silent auction…was bidding head to head for it as well as a 8 piece mess kit which I backed off on once I heard it was going to a good home.  This couple was hosting a dinner party for some WWII vets and was going to serve dinner with it.

Rosey Lakos Photography; got the amazing candid photo of me…really captures my spirit. Army Nurse Corp Major, smoking a cigar, Whiskey in the purse hanging with the boys.

More Photos

Information About Eagle Field

My Family History: My Father

My father, John  was born, March 10, 1928, in San Francisco, California (he would have been 81yrs old this year) .  His parents rented a house in Daly City for 8 years. When he was 8 years old the bought a house for $2,000, which needed some fixing up.  He was worried if the Easter Bunny wouldn’t find his new house.  John lived there until he was 18 years old.

He was 9 when the depression started.  Times were hard but they were able to make ends meet. His mother did go to bed many nights hungry to feed the children. Their home was always open to many children, Oma Jean did foster about 5 children who needed care.

They had the corner grocery store back then, and the owner would allow them to purchase food, and put it on the tab to be paid later. He remembers getting a new pair of shoes, but they were not new they were used.

Friends of his Dad’s would gamble to make money to buy food. Then they would give it to his mom to cook a big pot of meat and potatoes that they would all enjoy together. What ever was leftover they ate the rest of the week.

They would gather on Saturdays to play cards with their friends for entertainment as a common affair.

John was the youngest in the neighborhood, they called him ‘Baby John’. The children often gathered to play hockey with their roller skates. Wearing metal wheel skates, the street would turn white from the metal wheels wearing down the street. Sometimes their Dad would take them to Coyote Point to skate at the roller rink. [ Note: I remember playing with the same metal skates that strapped over a shoe when I was a kid]

His brother, Bernard included him with whatever they were doing, he’d always be following his brother around. John even got to go to dances when he was in grammar school, he learned how to dance at a young age.

His Dad purchased a Model A, which he would use for transportation to and from work. He bought a Chevy for $400 right before the war. His Mom, Jean never learned to drive, the only time she tried she ran into a pole. Her dream was always to ride on a bike too.

Jean was a good cook, and she was famous for her butter almond cookies and Botoletter ( a Holland pastry filled with almond paste).

As a family the would often take a drive to fly kites at the beach or in the hills of Daly City. His Dad would make the kites out of silk or newspaper. And it was glued, with a flour and potato mixture.

Going camping was something the family enjoyed. There mother would send the boys off fishing with a safety pin and stick, and they would catch fish.

He did some archery in grade school, and had always wanted to play football but he didn’t think he was big enough. Until one summer when he went off to a ranch in Lakeview, Oregon, and worked for the summer weighing only 130lbs and when he came back he weighed about 185lbs, and nobody recognized him. He did play football and received his varsity sweater, he was also on the swim team, and played the drums in the school band.

In 1941, his brother Bernard was over seas in the war so just him and his parents were home. John courted a girl all through high school, but it didn’t work out. He did go to the Senior Ball with a girl, double dating with a friend – Bob. Bob has always been a good friend since kindergarten and still is a special friend of the family.

He remembers when his brother was busy with a paper route and he couldn’t go to camp so he got to go in his place. They had horse back ridding and baseball. And one time he was playing baseball a guy said ” let’s go snipe hunting, have you ever been snipe hunting?”. John said “no”, so they gave him a gunny sack and sent him up to the mountains with a flash light and he sat there and sat and sat…they had tricked him.

In 1937 the family walked over the Golden Gate Bridge on opening day.

John’s brother got out of the service after serving for 4 years. About the same time John graduated from high school. John almost didn’t get to participate in the graduation ceremony because he was sick in bed for 3 months before graduation.

John and Bernard’s folks were very strict, but they learned to respect them the way they were. It’s been said that they were never spoiled.

John had bought a 49 Chevy and after graduation he and his parents took a trip back east, through Denver and Los Angeles. Putting 50k miles on his car in one year.

To be continued….

Taken from my nephews Josh’’s School Project.

My Family History: My Grandmother 1895-1991

Bastiaantge Verweerd, my Oma, (grandma in Dutch), was one of 10 children born in Dorderecht, Holland. She did change her name to Jean.  Jean was the only member of her family who did come to the states. She came as a governess with a wealthy Indonesian family to New Orleans. The moved to Missouri for a short time and then went to Santa Barbara, California.   Going through customs at Ellis Island was made easy for Oma, by means of this family paying her way. They returned to India, but she remained in America and moved to San Francisco where she took at job as a governess for the  Marston family (wife to the opera singer Lawrence Tibbett).

Oma enjoyed opera’s, playing bridge, and being a housewife.  After being married for 2 yrs, they started a family. Two sons – Bernard and John.

Bernard a healthy child growing up and enjoying the movies with the stars in the 40’s Big Band era. After graduation from high school he went into the Navy. In Auto- Gio, electrical training school, in St. Louis, MO. Here he met a lady at the U.S.O – Betty Wagner which was soon to be his wife. She came to San Francisco to be there when he came home from duty in the South Pacific. They went back to St. Louis to get married in 1946. After living in San Mateo for a short time they moved to Fresno, California, when Bern worked as a store clerk.  They had one child, a son, Barry, who also served in the Navy.

My Family History: My Grandfather 1884-1959

Taken from my nephew’s Joshua Carlsons school project:

John Corneles Janssen, my father (Opa; Grandpa in Dutch to Josh), and I visited Bemmel Holland in 1998.  In visiting and talking about the old days, he asked if they would undertake the family ties. ..

Bernardus Liborius Janssen, my grandpa (great-Opa, known as Bernard was one of 11 children, all born in Holland. Bernard Janssen arrived in the United States in 1911 with his brother Marinus. They migrated to San Francisco, California. Marinus was a baker. He died in his early 20’s. Marinus was living in an apartment above the bakery, and the gas light was left on, which fumigated and killed him.

My grandpa worked on the 1915 San Francisco World Exposition.

He did return to the old country in 1917, because he was disgusted with America and our working conditions being such a fast pace.  That was during World War I.  Instead of purchasing land here in the Sunset District in San Francisco, he wanted to see his family.  He took 4 bicycles with him as gifts for his cousins, staying with two cousins who were sisters. One was a Catholic School teacher and the other took care of the house. The teacher received a medal from the Pope for 33 years of teaching.

They lived in a Villa of a famous castle Huize Bemmel which is still standing today.  The Castle was taken over by the German’s during the occupation.  The doors were taken off and used for trench covers in hiding the German’s.

After Bernardus visited Holland he did come back to the U.S. bringing back another brother Engel (known as Uncle Betus) to Patterson, New Jersey. He stayed there and painted the sculptures in the Catholic churches.  There is still a distant relative of his in Florida.

Bernard did go to work in the trade in which he was trained in Holland.  He went to a trade school in Holland, where he learned carpentry. Back then it wasn’t that common for all children to be able to go to trade school, or college. He also recieved 2 medals in Greek wrestling.

He then met his wife, Bastiaante Verweerd at the Holland Club. The Holland Club was a place where the Dutch met to socialize. After knowing each other for only 3 weeks they got married, in 1922. The wedding was performed at the Justice of the Peace, and the reception at a friends house. They purchased a home in Daly City, which needed a lot of remodeling, but he was very qualified for the job. And also contracted for various carpentry jobs througout South San Francisco.

There was a time when there wasn’t much work when Bernardus went to work for the WPA. He cleaned all the posion oak out of the parks and burned it, he was one who never had a problem with getting poison oak. And he would only come home on the weekends with a bag of grocery’s.

Living in the city of San Francisco the commuting was done with the city’s transportation, the street car and cable cars. He would load his heavy tools on the boys coaster in the morning, pull it up the hills, park it at the corner store, and then back again at the end of the day.

He then worked for Pan American Airways in the carpentry shop until 1946. Retiring at the age of 62 because of heart conditions. Per doctors suggestions he relocated to the country, Sonora, California – where he built a home, complete with windows, doors and cabinets. Completing it in one year, manufacturing it all himself. His two sons, family and friends helped – making it a wonderful place to remember. They lived there 13 years until he died in 1959.

Side Note:  1959 the year my Ranchero was made…the Ranchero was also my dad’s best friend from kindergartens favorite car (a much later model).

Remembering the 65th anniversary of D-Day

EVENT INFO:

Please join the National Park Service and the Coast Artillery Historical Association for a two day event to remember the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
Meet World War II soldiers & experience history first hand. See demonstrations depicting the daily life of soldiers who defended San Francisco Bay during World War II. Battery Chamberlin is located at the north end of the Baker Beach parking lot. Parking is limited. We suggest carpooling. Additional parking is available on Bowley St.
For information please call 415-561-4323 or visit the Visitor Center located in the Presidio Officer’s Club, Building 50, on Moraga Ave, near Arguello Blvd. The Visitor Center is open daily from 9AM to 5PM.
Date: June 6-7, 2009
Location: Battery Chamberlin, Baker Beach, San Francisco
Time: 11:00-3:00

OPEN EVERY FIRST WEEKEND OF THE MONTH

SPECIAL GUEST:

PFC Russell Hardeman

The men talked to him about his battlefield experiences…I asked if he met any lovely ladies…he smiled ‘yes, a British Nurse Betty Chamberlin…we took a walk out to a castle you couldn’t get in but we laid in the grass for a while’…she appreciated him for being a perfect Gentleman. He liked the weekends off and spent time in Paris and London where he said there were so many orphans and he did what he could sharing his chocolate.  They also had Whiskey rations on Fridays and on a empty stomach he got a bit tipsy. He went to dances but was not a dancer.  He liked the rations from the Canadians’ canned beef and potatoes.

PFC Russell Hardeman

Jeanavive is the Army Nurse on the Left

Another Blog about the Day

Ballad of a Soldier

Just finished watching this movie

From Wikipedia:

Ballad of a Soldier is not primarily a war film: it recounts, within the context of the turmoil of war, various kinds of love: the romantic love of a young couple, the committed love of a married couple, and a mother’s love of her child. The film tells the story of the young soldier Alexei Nikolaevich Skvortsov (Vladimir Ivashov) making his way through the countryside during the first few months of the war at a time when the Soviet Union seemed destined to fall to the powerful Nazi onslaught. Awarded a six-day leave pass for destroying two German tanks, Alyosha makes his way home to visit his mother and to repair the roof of her home. During his journey he encounters the devastation the war has brought on the country and meets numerous people and gives them hope by virtue of his likeable and positive character. Riding in a freight car of an army supply train he meets Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) and falls in love with her. As he had spent precious time on running errands for his fellow soldiers from the front, he arrives at his home only to see his mother for a few minutes before having to leave to make his way back to his unit before his 6-day pass expires. He finds his way back to the front but, as told via voiceover, never returns from the war.