I would like to tell of the good things I remember and maybe some more of the bad just in case you haven’t had enough and would like to stop in once in a while for another story or two. I will try to write in order as in my book. I might even express my opinion on some issues and hope you join in with thoughts and/or comments occasionally.
My earliest memory, if you can believe it or not was being in my bassinet at my aunt and uncles house, because remember, they took care of me shortly after birth because of mother’s postpartum depression. I remember seeing in a very dim light, my Uncle Dom looking down at me. Just for a moment but it is so very vivid in my mind. I mentioned it once to my Aunt Bea and she said when he came home from work at night he would always look in on me.
I’ve heard of children that remember being in their mother’s womb. That must be a pretty amazing and extraordinary experience. I might have liked to experience that. On second thought, maybe not.
I remember watching westerns like Cisco Kid and Rin Tin Tin on a very small screened T.V. but then it was the fifties and that’s the kind of sets there were then. I use to pretend when I was sitting on the toilet that I was riding a horse and chasing the bad guys. I even made a quite noise with my tongue with a closed mouth that sounded like horse hooves. Yes I can still do it. I just tried. (Laugh)
I was super excited when color T.V.’s came out. We didn’t have one right away but our neighbors did who by the way just happened to live in the house across the street that I heard Lucille Ball’s mother lived in. They let my brother Don and I come over once in a while on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons. For some reason I really liked Felix the Cat and Heckle and Jeckle. Don swore, before color came out that he could see color. He also made peanut butter and jelly mixed in a bowl and then put it on our toast or bread, way before it came out that way in a jar. I believe it was Smuckers who came out with it in 1968 under the name Goober. Perhaps he was a visionary type person.
I also heard that Lucille dated my grandmother’s brother at one time. You know Lucille Ball was from Jamestown N.Y. for you fans out there. They have a festival every year there and a museum. I understand it’s a really big deal and why shouldn’t it be. She has been dubbed, First Lady of Comedy. Boy would I have liked to have met her.
For years my mother always said she wanted to be buried next to my father but in the end she said that really didn’t matter. He was buried in Jamestown and we were in Oklahoma. I also knew that there was only the one plot where my father was but found out after his death there were a few others that one of my Landy uncles had possession of. So when mother passed away I thought about checking into this matter of getting her up there and with my father. I found out because she was cremated, I could have had her put in the same plot with my father. Well then I asked if I could put my brother’s ashes in there as well. “No,” they said, “That is not allowed.” “Only two were allowed.” I replied with, “Well I know for a fact,” (because I did some research) “That Lucille Ball is in with her parents, and that makes three.” The man on the other end of the phone chuckled a little and said well that was Lucy. And there you have it. Money and being a celebrity can get you many things but we all know that, don’t we?
To finish up this part of the story, my other uncle, Uncle Jr., said, “Why would you want your mother to be way up here when all of your family is there?” Good question. I found out that I was really not able to let her go anyway. I could not part with her and I know I should bury both my mother and brother, Don somewhere close but still have them with me. If you have read my book you know why it is hard to let my mother go.