tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post4053970387337425806..comments2024-03-22T12:57:57.273-05:00Comments on WOUNDED BIRD: It Was 50 Years Ago Today....June Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-64399610683765204742007-08-13T11:21:00.000-05:002007-08-13T11:21:00.000-05:00Wow, 67 years! Godde bless them, indeed!Wow, 67 years! Godde bless them, indeed!June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-13667344259231585502007-08-13T11:14:00.000-05:002007-08-13T11:14:00.000-05:00I didn't mean to be competitive ;-) -- but just ha...I didn't mean to be competitive ;-) -- but just had to share the story. Your trip sounds more fun during the travel part (company is always good) though my mother had a nice goal at the end... And she and my father are still married after lo these 67 years, Godde bless them.Jane Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13814517077774999407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-50806709876116610292007-08-12T21:03:00.000-05:002007-08-12T21:03:00.000-05:00Jane, I'd say that your mother taking the bus to M...Jane, I'd say that your mother taking the bus to Mexico was more of an adventure than our trip.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-25616677261499501532007-08-12T19:43:00.000-05:002007-08-12T19:43:00.000-05:00Oh, Grandmère Mimi, this is great! Thank you!My mo...Oh, Grandmère Mimi, this is great! Thank you!<BR/><BR/>My mother took the BUS down to Mexico to marry my father, who was down there on a fellowship, and also working as a young journalist. She was sick of waiting around in Brooklyn, so off she went. Yes, by bus! In 1940! Now you two HAVE to meet. You're much younger than she is though -- she is 88, almost 89.<BR/><BR/>I can't wait till the next installment. And I may have to phone up my mother and read her all or part of the first installment... (Though if I do she will chide me for spending too much time blogging, so perhaps I'd best not and just slip the story into the conversation sometime and say "Guess what a friend of mine told me?")<BR/><BR/>As for Alberto Gonzales, whatever he says he drinks, he's lyin'.Jane Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13814517077774999407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-2057602915949991132007-08-12T08:27:00.000-05:002007-08-12T08:27:00.000-05:00Jan, I'm sure Mexico is quite different from 50 ye...Jan, I'm sure Mexico is quite different from 50 years ago. I've only been back to areas where cruise ships stop since then. We should do a trip there.<BR/><BR/>Diane, we didn't think we were doing anything brave. We wanted an adventure, and that's what we got. Many young people don't think too much about consequences and plunge ahead. I'm so glad we did.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-32194308709629949552007-08-11T21:41:00.000-05:002007-08-11T21:41:00.000-05:00it took me awhile to get to this, but it's wonderf...it took me awhile to get to this, but it's wonderful so far! I can't imagine this adventure! You were so brave! I can't imagine just learning to drive and then driving to Mexico. But then, I'm from Minnesota. Maybe that is part of it.<BR/><BR/>Can't wait for part II.Diane M. Rothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07749136181846671327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-7175834506907120452007-08-11T21:35:00.000-05:002007-08-11T21:35:00.000-05:00Great story! One of my observations from our road ...Great story! One of my observations from our road trip in Mexico in July was that the roads are MUCH improved over that era. There are excellent divided highways between cities these days, though all toll roads. You might have had less car trouble on these.<BR/><BR/>I remember a couple of car trips across the US when gas was $.29 a gallon. I agree; it stayed there a long time. Late 60s, very early 70s.janinsanfranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07548452260456734928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-33058520530746788722007-08-11T18:36:00.000-05:002007-08-11T18:36:00.000-05:00Boocat, the price that sticks in my mind is .29 pe...Boocat, the price that sticks in my mind is .29 per gallon. It seemed to hover thereabouts for quite a long time.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-76702072658163239072007-08-11T16:44:00.000-05:002007-08-11T16:44:00.000-05:00Grandmère, I had copies of all of Dad’s oil compan...Grandmère, I had copies of all of Dad’s oil company credit cards for emergencies. I’ll bet most young women of that time did. Most of our fathers’ worst fear was that we would be caught out on the road with car trouble and no way to take care of it. I remember calling him in tears one time when I was in transit to New Jersey to work for the summer. I had crossed the Mason-Dixon Line and gas had gone up to $.359 per gallon. (It had been $.25 when I left Louisiana.)I felt like I had been robbed. He laughed and told me to expect it to go as high as $.45 or $.50 as I approached New York. Oh, for the days of $.50 per gallon gas to return. I would gladly pay that now.BooCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01193638351756858614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-3385230675131090002007-08-11T15:53:00.000-05:002007-08-11T15:53:00.000-05:00Boocat, I'm wondering how we paid for all the tire...Boocat, I'm wondering how we paid for all the tire repairs and car repairs during the trip. I wasn't carrying that kind of extra money. M's father must have given her some kind of card that we could use for those unexpected expenses.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-47737218574888573012007-08-11T15:22:00.000-05:002007-08-11T15:22:00.000-05:00Grandmère, I can hardly wait for Part Two. Road tr...Grandmère, I can hardly wait for Part Two. Road trips with gal pals are some of the fondest memories of my misspent youth. Do you remember when you could stay at Holiday Inns from coast to coast with your Gulf Oil Card? Why my dad let me do that, I’ll never know, but he did. (If Mother had lived, it would never have happened; she had way too much good sense.) Why my friends’ parents trusted them when they went with me is another mystery. Heavens, if they had only known! You brought back such good memories of so many good times.BooCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01193638351756858614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-66120470164438832392007-08-11T14:53:00.000-05:002007-08-11T14:53:00.000-05:00Caminante, I read many of Thurber's stories and bo...Caminante, I read many of Thurber's stories and books back in the day, but I don't remember the one you describe, another Alberto Gonzales moment.<BR/><BR/>Life often seems Thurber-esque to me. Perhaps that's why I remember incidents like the one described.<BR/><BR/>I have not written Part 2 yet, so it may not come today or tomorrow - or even the next day.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-62100635642147256512007-08-11T13:26:00.000-05:002007-08-11T13:26:00.000-05:00'I said to her, "Here, you drive. Why on earth did...'I said to her, "Here, you drive. Why on earth didn't you say stop?" The sign said "Alto", so that's what she screamed out.'<BR/><BR/>This is very James Thurber-esque, if you know his story, 'A Ride with Olympi' in which he tries to teach a Greek man how to drive standard shift in French and gets 'gauche' and 'à droite' mixed up. It's hilarious.<BR/><BR/>I eagerly await part two.Caminantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16610142955176992982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-36944066820743012332007-08-11T13:00:00.000-05:002007-08-11T13:00:00.000-05:00Did you really not have any trouble being young wo...<I>Did you really not have any trouble being young women on your own (and terribly attractive ones, I'm sure, desipte MP's best efforts at altering all the photographic evidence)?</I><BR/><BR/>Klady, depends upon what you mean by trouble. We had car trouble.<BR/><BR/>We got oggled and leered at, and perhaps naughty Spanish comments were directed toward us, which we blissfully did not comprehend, but that was the worst of it. Perhaps, being two and not one woman alone, made a difference.<BR/><BR/>It was one of the most enjoyable trips I ever made.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-84196999373630359422007-08-11T11:58:00.000-05:002007-08-11T11:58:00.000-05:00Yes, I can't wait to hear the rest.Two women in th...Yes, I can't wait to hear the rest.<BR/><BR/><I>Two women in their early twenties, driving to Mexico without a man to protect them was not their idea of a safe trip.</I><BR/><BR/>My parents would have tied or locked me up so I couldn't have gone. What a wonderful adventure. I'm envious, not having ever been mainland south of the U.S. border.<BR/><BR/>Did you really not have any trouble being young women on your own (and terribly attractive ones, I'm sure, desipte MP's best efforts at altering all the photographic evidence)? I've been reading the book Eileen was reading (Eat, Pray, and Love) in the Italy section and the author pointed out that things had changed a lot for women traveling alone in Italy from when she first visited. It wasn't always easy for me even in the early 1970's in France and later in the 1980's in Spain. I suppose having a companion, even a female one, must have helped.kladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09526715552795733402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-3194143393674729612007-08-11T11:32:00.000-05:002007-08-11T11:32:00.000-05:00Dare I infer that you had more (much more) than on...<I>Dare I infer that you had more (much more) than one Carta Blanca?</I><BR/><BR/>Lisa, LOL. Anything's possible. I do sound like Alberto Gonzales, don't I? I wonder if he drinks Carta Blanca.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2174812066017196444.post-45419365442715195382007-08-11T10:54:00.000-05:002007-08-11T10:54:00.000-05:00What a great story, Grandmère! I too have fond mem...What a great story, Grandmère! I too have fond memories of trips I made in my 20s that were foolhardy but delightful. Thanks for sharing this one. I look forward to the next installment. <BR/><BR/>I observe, however, that you don't remember much of what you did in those cities. Dare I infer that you had more (much more) than <B>one</B> Carta Blanca? ;-)Lisa Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00881671380217888810noreply@blogger.com