Visits
Visits to see my sister were always pleasant. My fathers parents were
always fun to be around. My grandfather was serious and stern, quiet and
always in the vegetable garden. I would watch him deftly move the water
currents with his large hoe as he watered his huge garden. He would place
his garden hose in one spot and water his whole garden.
My grandmother would be in the kitchen, a large pot of water with some
Indian corn boiling for me. This was my treat. She would be speaking Spanish
to me and rolling tortillas, flipping the tortillas in her palms
and flower dusting the bread board as she rolled them round.
My sister and my cousin Margaret Ann would play with me during my visits.
Margaret Ann was my aunt Edith's daughter, they lived in this home. My
aunt was an author, painter and disk jockey. She search and researched
our families history. She wrote a book about my grandfather. I have been
trying to find a copy of what she wrote, but no one seems to want to help
me out.
Our grandparents had a player piano in their dinning room. My sister
and I would sit on the floor, peddle and listen to Scott Joplin rags. We
learned how to place the piano rolls in the piano. This was always a real
thrill for us.
***
http://www.scottjoplin.org
I looked up Scott Joplin and found some very nice information about
him, I loved what I learned about him and his style of music. His piano
rolls put him on the map. Some of his rags were composed for
a tuba, piano, clarinet, oboe, trumpet, trombone, violin and viola and
many more instruments. I heard a Boston rag band playing his music recently,
superb.
***
While I was living in Pasadena, our music came from the radio, an RCA
Victrola and an square, rounded corner T.V. John Phillip Sousa marches,
Mexican National marches and Spanish guitar (Malagueña) came out
of the crank RCA Victrola at my mothers home. The T.V. gave us the bull
fights from Mexico. I would stand tall and proud, my body arched in defiance,
daring the bull, my mental/slender grace overcoming all.
***
