Somehow my mother was able to raise three boys without having a man in the house. She worked as a hostess at Acapulcos and sold dresses at Carlyns in the town of Escondido, California.
She made sure that we always had what we needed to chase our dreams.
She managed to hang on to our two and a half acre ranch even without the help of my father who bolted when I was 9.
I found my release from their split on a big patch of dirt. Mom had a hoop put up on a big wooden poll. I would be out there shooting hoops and listening to the late Chick Hearn call Laker games on the radio. Mom had to have a floodlight installed because I would be out there shooting in the dark.
We had horses, several dogs, turtles, chickens, and cats. Mom made sure that the pets were part of the family. I remember one time I walked one of our horses into the living room of the house just to eat some watermelon off the dinner table.
I would sit in front of the TV with the volume turned down and broadcast whatever game was on. She never told me to turn the channel or stop broadcasting the game.
Mom didn’t care that I had big parties at the ranch in high school and college. One time she had my friends and I stack the Bartles and Jaymes bottles as high as we possibly could.
She put the fear of God in me at an early age and made sure that I would be on the bus to church camp every winter and summer.
She was, and still is, a planner. She loves having big holiday events.
When the check didn’t come from my dad(which was more often than not), we just found a way to hang in there together, kinda like final scene from the movie “Twister”.
Mom has been through several health issues in the last twenty years including a battle with cancer. She still encourages me to chase my dreams.
Thanks mom…
