Living Single

As an older woman living alone, I have come to recognize the significance of the unconditional love and support my father provided during his lifetime. Raised in a family of six- mother, father, three brothers, and myself as the eldest and only daughter—I have observed that the unconditional love of a father has played a notable role in shaping my acceptance of life circumstances. While living alone is not my preferred situation, I have reached a level of acceptance regarding my life.

A Father’s Love

Reflecting on my father’s love, I recall with loving memory, how my father always called me “baby girl.” I loved that term of endearment.  After my mother died, he lived with two of my brothers, daily sitting at the kitchen table listening to the talk shows of that day on the radio. I often visited after work to read the Bible to him. Although I selfishly didn’t want him to remarry, I remember an incident my brother’s told me of their arranging for a woman to visit our dad, after which he was found stupefied, standing against the wall in the hallway. He was barely able to speak and needed help to the bedroom and bed.

Reflections

Thinking of him brings a smile, a chuckle, and a gentle happiness to my heart, knowing he loved me and cared for me unconditionally. Even when he was upset, as he was when I cut my hair, he simply glanced at me, muttered “ssshittt,” and walked away. When it came to my forced teen age marriage due to pregnancy, he refused to give me away, insisting, “I will not give her away to anyone.” Back then, once a pregnancy became known, the mothers of the couple handled the details—planning the wedding and deciding where we would live. In my case, I moved in with his mother and sister (not a pleasant experience). As for my ex’s stepfather, I never met him; he was serving in the military. His father was a Louisiana “rolling stone.”

The marriage lasted a little over two years, during which time my ex completed a two-year Navy tour; long enough for me to become pregnant a second time. My obvious unhappiness and a long weekend visit from our Berkeley apartment that should have been an overnight stay for my two-year old son and a pregnant me at my parent’s home caused my father to offer me a proposition ‘You can remain with us here; however, if you ever go back to him, you can never return to stay” I never went back to the ‘bast turd’.  No, I’m sorry, he is the father of my two sons.

More Children

I have to admit that I actually have two other children, my son’s brother and sister. I love them both. I accepted and welcomed my son’s siblings into my home. My youngest ‘son’ as a pre-teen felt so comfortable at my home that one day he came over and couldn’t get in as no one was home. He broke in, climbing through the bathroom window. Laughingly, I told him “My darling, please, never break into the house again, just wait until someone can let you in.”  As a grown man now, he often expresses his love, and I love it!

My father often gave all three of them odd jobs at his place of business, a restaurant and bar that he built himself, with the help of other relatives.

Love: The Experience

The experience of male unconditional love has deeply influenced me. Because I’ve felt what true love is, I can quickly recognize insincerity in others and know when affection isn’t genuine. This understanding shapes my friendships as well; at times, I feel an even stronger bond with male friends than with female ones. I’ve enjoyed remarkable friendships with men, including the comedian, Paul Mooney. My ‘play brother, D’ was a significant figure in my life until his passing. We talked most every day. Through relationships with others and the ups and downs of life, he and I remained close. He stood by me through my mother’s death as well as two of my brothers, one of which was murdered. And I stood by him when his mother died and sadly when his partner died in Costa Rica while on a training mission toward emerging herself in Spanish for her self-owned business purposes.  They say it was Dengue Fever. I didn’t inquire further.  One instinctively knows, with friends, when not to question any further.  At least four other close male friends have also passed away—I miss them all, very much.  There is something about the male point of view regarding life that is unique from my female friends that is uniquely different. It seems that once the ‘sex thing’ is taken out in the relationship, a good male friend is perfect for me.

One Silken Shoe

Looking back over my 85 years, there was a time when I felt like that ‘one silken shoe,’ standing alone in the closet among the many pairs.  As years go by, more women who once had partners and lived as pairs, now find themselves in my situation.  Although it often seems harder for them to adapt to being on their own. Some had happy marriages/partnerships, or so it appeared; others stayed simply to avoid loneliness. Is enduring worthwhile? For some, perhaps it is. Ultimately, I realize that unconditional love in friendship and in love matters most to me—yet it’s something I’m still searching for. Then again, maybe I’m being unreasonable, maybe I’m looking for something that asks too much of love. Maybe at 85 years it will never be. Maybe….

Unexpected Reminders of Loss

I’ve come to realize that aging often brings with it unpredictable reminders of loss. Sometimes, seemingly out of nowhere, a memory will resurface that can overwhelm us, breaking through the emotional defenses that have been carefully constructed over years of managing difficult feelings. These defenses—what I think of as the “mattresses of protection,” a phrase borrowed from my favorite movie, The Godfather—are meant to shield us from sorrow, but occasionally the sadness beneath seeps through.

A Routine Trip to Costco

I recently entered Costco with a straightforward mission: to purchase paper towels. Growing up, we never used them; instead, we relied on cotton kitchen towels for all those various kitchen needs. But today, paper towels have become indispensable, nearly as essential as toilet paper—a product that became even more valuable during the COVID pandemic. I was fully aware that retailers place high-demand items, like the $4.99 rotisserie chickens, at the very back of the store to encourage shoppers to make additional purchases on their way through. Despite this awareness, I was still unable to avoid the strategy and ended up spending a total of $175.

The Lemon Tree Encounter

As I walked in, ignoring the tempting bulk-priced items to the left, I found myself drawn toward the pallets of garden products. There, on my right, was a display of lemon trees. The trees were heavy with plump, golden lemons, their fragrance cutting through the otherwise stale air of the warehouse. The sight and scent hit me unexpectedly, and I felt an emotional reaction rise of tears threatening, but I refused to let them fall. The memory of searching for the perfect lemon tree to plant in the backyard of my long-lost home swept over me, filling me with a profound sense of longing and loss.

Memory and Acceptance

I stood motionless, able only to gently touch a branch weighed down by the brilliant fruit. Holding it softly in my right palm, I was mesmerized by its beauty, and for a moment, I imagined it growing in the backyard of my memory. Determined not to give in to the tears I felt swelling, I reminded myself of my present reality: I am now an older woman living in a small one-bedroom apartment in a city far removed from the one in my memory, though thankfully near my son. I told myself to move on, to continue toward the paper towel section at the back of the store. Though I did not allow the tears to fall, their presence was there—a silent unexpected acknowledgment of loss. I gathered myself, reclaiming my public façade, and walked on.

A key life lesson I’ve learned over 85 years is to face moments that challenge your beliefs.   The aging process offers these moments too soon and too often. When a family member, friend or the media cause you to ask yourself, “is this really true; did I make a mistake, or am I really losing it?” Well, a case of this dilemma happened to me ‘once again.

l woke up one morning and found two decks of cards strewn on the living room rug of my apartment. I stood looking at the decks wondering how did they get there from the bottom shelve of the bookcase where they were originally stored?

I stood kinda stunned! I took a picture of the wayward decks because I wanted, no needed to mark this occasion in my memory “was this a big marker of my decline?” I knew hadn’t gone to bed with decks of cards lying on the rug in an ‘not paying attention moment’ as I could trip and fall. And anyone knows that falls are a major hazard for the elderly. I have at least two friends in my age group who are dealing with the repercussions of falling. Bruises, broken bones or worse, in my humble opinion, concussions which may lead to other concerns regarding memory, etc. The recovery process for falls can be long and arduous as older bones may be more brittle taking longer to repair.

I told my son when he came over and his take on the cards was” maybe you walked in your sleep and took the cards out.” My immediate response was “I don’t walk in my sleep.” He asked, “Mom, then how did the decks end up on the floor?”  “Do you think that someone broke into your apartment and placed the cards there or accidently bumped into the bookcase causing only those two decks to fall out onto the floor, then lock the door, from inside, behind them? I stood aghast and started going through my compromised with age memory and tried to think of another excuse for the cards being there. 

I did remember a discussion with my friend with whom I ride to church. She told me that during a Christmas holiday gathering a Monopoly game with so many family members had caused them to pay only $20 when passing “Go” in lieu of the $200 required because there were so many members playing. She smiled as she talked about the laughter and fun of running out of the Monopoly money causing her to think about ordering Monopoly money only from Amazon or the like. At the time I thought about offering her the money from my ‘not played forever’ Monopoly game stored in the bottom shelve of the bookcase. I decided to wait before I offered because that was a game that my family loved to play and I would offer to loan her money if she needed it again. 

Could I have walked in my sleep? Could I have moved the card decks to get to the Monopoly game and neglected to return the cards to their proper place? Certainly, no one had broken into my apartment for that purpose. Well, I decided, this is just another effect of growing older. So you walk in your sleep too! “What else, dear God?” 

Well, dear readers, the mystery has been solved! My son agrees that I probably didn’t walk in my sleep regarding the mysterious deck of cards; however, the answer is perhaps much worse, the mice are back! Or perhaps never left my apartment. The assistant maintenance person had brought me a device that you plug into an electrical plug unit that blinks a red light that is “supposed” to send out a sound that causes mice to run away. It seemed to be working. No mice or signs of mice in the kitchen, their favorite place to rummage. 

The other afternoon, I discovered signs that the mice or mouse had returned. They, or it was eating the floorboards in the kitchen leaving crumbs of plastic on the floor around the dish washer. I called the lease office who sent the contracted exterminator over. He laughed at the blinking light and said he knew occasions where mice would poop on top of the device and keep foraging. 

My son came over after work to support his aging mother plagued with mice. I was on a Zoom call with my church members and motioned for him to wait a few moments for the meeting to end. He reached for the jar of mixed nuts I have on the bar (I only use a folding table and chairs when needed, the bar is more efficient for my living space purposes 😌). After a couple of minutes, a sound from him caused me to turn and he was pointing at the plastic container of nuts, gagging. I saw two jagged holes in the bottom of the jar as my son said “mice, I ate some of the nuts. I have to go home”. We originally threw the damaged goods in the garbage as he slightly staggered out the door. He called me to apologize for leaving (a queasy stomach from a spicy lunch then sharing the nuts with mice had exacerbated his distress). He asked if he should return. “No, tomorrow would be fine”. However, I retrieved the evidence we had thrown in the trash for taking to the lease office.  

The next morning, I replayed the memory of the night before wondering how and why themice had moved from the kitchen to the bar in the living room? I put on my Sherlock Holmes hat and began to investigate the scene. The jar of nuts had been placed on bar near where I sit while eating and watching the news or a movie on tv. There were a few mouse droppings around where the jar once stood, not readily noticeable on the dark wood. I looked at the rug around the area, which sits next to the sofa. I pulled the sofa from the wall and screamed!  There was a nest, with a pile of mice poop and mixed nuts scattered around.

It was the mouse/mice that scattered the playing cards! I did not walk in my sleep! I was not losing it as fast as I had come to believe. I should believe what I believe and never (almost never) doubt or second guess myself!

For all those who read www.onesilkenshoe.com  and perhaps are under 50 years, or those over 18 years who have decided to join AARP magazine which lends itself to the issues of aging, I publish this message. AARP magazine published an article in its October/November 2025 issue regarding the “Search for unclaimed assets”. The article states that according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) 1 in 7 Americans have unclaimed property on books of their particular state. I tried MissingMoney.com and today I received a check in the amount of $6.96. I also found assets for my church that I forwarded to my Pastor for beginning the claim process. I, like many others at this stage in life, don’t want to transition with unclaimed assets out there in the universe.  I’m always on the look-out for ways to bring in or begin a process that brings financial gain and or abundance into my life. Please check the website out, www.MissingMoney.com

I’ve noticed, as I have aged, that the thirty (30) somethings, the Gen Y or millennials (I goggled the terminology) view the celebration of the holidays differently than my generation (baby boomers). My granddaughter and her sister (blended families) celebrate Christmas with a family gathering to watch the movie “P2”.  This was my second year being a part of this particular get-together. In prior years I lived a 45-minute night drive away.  Another aging thing- night driving has become a no-no. It seems my perception of familiar environmental markers are lost at might, making driving very difficult. However, for the past two years because of challenging circumstances in my life (I’ll write more about them later), I live a short distance from the youngest of my two senior citizen sons.

My first year of partaking in watching this horror movie (lots of blood and gore), I didn’t understand why these two intelligent young ladies would choose this particular activity/movie as reason to celebrate the season by sending out internet RSVP invitations, making spaghetti and serving popcorn. P2, directed by Franck Khalfoun, and starring Rachel Nichols and Wes Bently is the story of a woman being stalked by a crazy eyed killer, mostly in a parking garage, therefore P2 the level where her car is parked.

The theme of the movie and the goriness caused me to ponder – why would my sweet, intelligent, kind, granddaughter and her just as intelligent, kind, sweet, sister be so infatuated with a movie that they would plan a yearly family night during the Christmas season. Mind you, the action takes place at Christmas. In fact, the movie begins with the incomparable Eartha Kitt singing “Santa Baby” in the background.

I love both young women, and value their ideas and concerns. However, P2 puzzled me. There was actual overtone of excitement in other family members- was it about the movie or about getting together as a family?

I pondered the psychology behind young women thinkers as these two are, regarding the time and effort they spent planning and working to make the night a special one at Christmas when thoughts are usually about the birth of a baby Savior, who we all in our family worship with differing levels of devotion and religiosity. I considered the movie and its message, and it finally dawned on me, it’s the ending. The boobs, the blood, the gore, the violence all leads to an ending that speaks to female empowerment.

I believe, this is an important part of aging. Realizing that what used to be, may not be anymore. Go with the flow, Gwendolyn There is change in the air. Mangers and Santa are not celebrated the way I grew up celebrating Christmas. Macys Union Square will not have Santa leading its Christmas parade. My grandchildren have not raised their children believing in Santa Claus. I remember when I was a ten-year-old in the 4^th grade and Odis Thomas told me there was no Santa Claus and I tearfully reported him to my teacher.  Mr. Maves quietly advised me to talk with my parents about this matter. At home my mother tenderly told me to keep the secret about Santa from my three (3) younger brothers who, of course, knew the reality and had let me believe, while laughing at my naivete behind my back. Christmas just ain’t what it used to be.

It seems I’ve been negligent in posting my thoughts and views regarding this crazy aging process I am experiencing.  I became 85 years this December. What it is, is I’m busy trying to survive (including rest time), that I forget to pass on to you, my precious readers, some of the good things I have discovered as I age. One discovery is I LOVE frozen grapes. When I am feeling up or down in the dumps, I find I can crunch on a few frozen grapes, and it seems to satisfy a number of senses. I’ve found over the years that I prefer foods that crunch. It’s totally satisfying that pop when eating a layer that leads to that mini explosion in my mouth. That’s a food experience that I enjoy in thin crackers, cookies and of course potato chips. Well, frozen grapes fit that category in spades and are a better food selection or me. Here’s how I prepare them:

• Purchase a few pounds of fresh tightly clustered, firm red, green or black grapes from the fresh produce
• Place grapes in a sieve-like bowl and wash grapes while on vine.
• Remove grapes from vine into sieve bowl
• Wash separated grapes again under cool running water.
• Place washed grapes in gallon freezer bag
• Lay grape filled bags as flat as possible in freezer.
• After freezing grape filled bag can be placed in freezer door or anywhere in freezer that is easily accessible.

I eat the grapes as a snack, as a dessert when craving something sweet and any time when craving something to make me feel better.

Try them. I think you may love them.

I’m sitting on the toilet with my drawers (panties) and summer shorts around my ankles when a fat mouse runs past me and turns right at the bathroom door toward the large closet stuffed with both needed and unneeded items that I remain reluctant to part with. I have never felt so vulnerable, and again, so helpless. I could not move fast. I’m half naked, so to speak. My brain went into over-drive. I couldn’t decide whether to scream or cry. I’ve got mice in my apartment. It was fat! Was it an escaped pet? Later, my friend Muriel offered, perhaps it was pregnant, (oh, no!) I had gone for a quick pit-stop, and the safety and healthiness of my apartment is in question. I’m almost 85 years and I’ve never had mice before (that I know of). I’ve had to deal with roaches (those horrible night crawlers that come out in darkness and scatter so quickly when light is turned on). Those critters forced me to move because the landlord was too slow in taking care of the problem.

I went to the leasing office where they informed me that the exterminator would be making rounds a week from the following Thursday. I was given three (3) fold over sticky pads to use in the meantime. I called my youngest son (poor baby.) Both my sons are senior citizens, dealing with a mother in need as well as their own families.  I try not to call too often from a needy position, but life is what it is and during his long commute home from work, he talked with me about a fat, perhaps pregnant mouse. He came the next evening (Thursday) after work. He set four (4) snapping traps that my neighbor gave me, as well as the three sticky ones supplied by the leasing office. Well, Friday morning I found one (1) in the kitchen caught in the sticky pad. On Friday evening my wonderful son came to help me dispose of the mouse caught in the kitchen on the sticky trap.

It’s hard for me to look at dead bug, critter or human. In my community, at a funeral it is a common practice for attendees to be march past the coffin for a last look at the deceased. I take part only because of the awkwardness of not following directions of the Pastor. Many attendees pause at the front row family pew to exchange loving remarks of support. The piano or organ music commonly played during this time in funeral service, reflect a connection to the religious practices and beliefs of the deceased. Songs like “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”, “Goin Up Yonder” or “Order My Steps”. My cousin who lived boldly with a second family around the corner from his wife a kids had Sinatra’s “I did It My Way” played at his memorial service.

As I walk pass the coffin, I quickly glimpse, no matter that I did not want to. Sometimes the deceased resembles an asleep version of the person I knew. However, most times, in my opinion, the preparation misses the mark. The cold form lying in the masses of satin in bronze box looks nothing like the person I knew. I’ve decided on cremation. Those are the things that come to mind at my age when dealing with death of a rodent or the ants that invaded while dealing with mice. The marching ants remind me of how focused and purposeful life can and must be.

My son led the battle with the mice with the help of the exterminator, and we caught four (4) of the tiny creatures who actually look a lot like Mickey (I did a quick glimpse). I later found that management of my apartment complex was doing some renovations on the downstairs apartments as persons vacated. My third-floor apartment was an escape route from disturbance (I choose not to think about how and why). At a senior complex, as mine is, there are myriad reasons for vacated apartments. Steel wool stuffed around under sink pipes openings and thorough cleaning of surrounding areas where evidence of droppings was in order.

I now perform a quick survey of my small bathroom as I begin a pit stop. However, sometimes time and urgency prevent looking around and one must concentrate on preparation for the sit-down for us females. Lesson learned- the bathroom, as Janet Leigh found in “Psycho” can be the most defenseless room in the house.

Regrets? I Have Many…

I remember staring longingly at the one shoe sitting alone on the closet shelf among the mated pairs long after I had tossed its mate with the busted seam into the wastebasket. The one-time lovely pair boasted pale yellow silk-like material with delicate swirls of black, red, lime green and white had instantly entered my heart at first sight as I openly lusted for them as they exhibited themselves on the store display rack. An open toe with a 2 1/2-inch heel (just right for walking or standing) completed the shoes as I fell in love with shameless passion. When I tried them on, they slipped onto my feet as if they were designed for my feet. As I stood, then walked a few steps, the floor and my feet became as one with the universe. A glance in the low floor mirror confirmed that my feet and legs were kindly accentuated by these lovely silken shoes. They certainly weren’t super expensive, not on the Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo scale, just a great pair of shoes that made a summer’s day outfit scream out “best dressed” look.  And, of course, there is no greater thrill than looking good while wearing a comfortable pair of shoes.  I try to be reasonable in my shoe purchases, keeping the cost in the $150 range.  Oh, why do we love shoes so? If Carrie from “Sex and the City” could respond, what would she say?

Looking back, what I regret is tossing the one silken shoe that was still in good condition.  So, why did I toss it? Who keeps one shoe? Sometimes in a fit of crazy, one does things that one regrets later. I tossed that good shoe on a day when I could not think of a logical reason to keep it. It had sat on the shelf in my closet, as a shimmering example of never to be worn again, and one day I asked myself why? And, as I couldn’t give myself a reasonable answer, into the wastebasket and out to the curbside my wonderful shoe went. It was weeks later, as I began to miss its presence that I recognized the crazy fact that I longed for an absent shoe. I missed seeing it on the closet shelf.  I missed the pair; however, I realized that the one shoe served some subliminal need in my spirit. Was this absent shoe a metaphor for the things that I miss most in my life as I age?  In an illogical fit of logic, did I judge this shoe “not a complete package” and feel that I had to shed it to live an organized life?  If I had the one shoe back, would it make my life better? The answer, of course, is somewhere between probably not and I don’t know. But the further question is – what was one silken shoe doing for my spirit?

I had tried to find a repair shop for the shoe with the busted seam. Each of the three repair shop personnel had advised me that the shoe was not worth or could not be repaired.  I had stuffed my wide, size nine feet into them so often that I had worn the one shoe out.  The silk-like material was tattered and torn where is should have connected to the sole of the shoe and was, in one word, pitiful. My weight gain in menopause and the pressure on my feet as I often walked in those beautiful, delicate shoes no doubt caused the breach.

There are those who like to place beautiful things in a drawer or closet and in private, lustfully look at and touch the preciousness of beauty. Me, I use and wear what I love, receiving great pleasure from the objects. There are no good dishes, silverware, glasses, jewelry or anything else that I own that I do not use to the fullest. And I wore those shoes on every occasion I could on summer days and fall nights.  I wore one shoe into serious injury, finally tossing it, while the other sat on the closet shelf as a reminder of some kind.  Why did I not recognize the one shoe’s meaning so that I could have framed it (which would have been a great project) or preserved it in some way?  Instead, on a crazy day, I tossed it out.

Did I toss the one good shoe because it sat alone among all the pairs?  Was I making a connection with my life? Or, was it simply because one shoe is an unnecessary object to keep in an over-stuffed closet.  Then why did I keep one shoe so long? What relevance did it serve? Those are the questions I asked myself as I tossed it into the wastebasket. Now, as I miss its presence, I realize that one shoe represented more than the obvious reality of its being. That one lovely silken shoe, that I still long for, meant much more to me than an unusable object of outer wear.

I am usually a thoughtful person; therefore, I want to explore, in journal format, what one silken shoe could possibly mean to a 73-year-old female who has been living alone among the pairs over many years.  A woman who regrets tossing out the beautiful thing that I loved because I could think of no logical reason to keep it. Does life always have to make sense? How can you love something and still toss it out because of logic?  Why couldn’t I discern and accept that the beauty of one shoe remained on its own.

I believe in God therefore I believe in magic and miracles. I want to explore my longings and my regrets as related to one silken shoe. It could be that once I unlock the mystery of my regrets regarding my shoe, I may be able to unlock the miracle of my living with all my regrets and who I really am.

Where am I now at almost 85 years? Have I learned what is the mystery of my regrets, promises, loss and challenges of living in these additional twelve (12) years? Do I need to consider other experiences and remembrances? Without therapy (although I have studied and received a MA in Psychology and Addiction Counseling in 2022) can I or have I in these last year’s realized or learned who I really am? How do I feel about that one silken shoe? I feel the need to thoughtfully explore what I have learned and examine my mistakes, regrets and loss in perhaps preparing for that final transition.

Remembering Paul Mooney: Friendship, Laughter and Legacy

It’s Sunday and my friend Paul Mooney is involved in a photo mystery: In this  photo Sammy Davis, Jr., Paul Mooney, Richard Pryor, And Bill Cosby are identified (three giants in comedy and other genere, and one giant in most every genre, although Bill Cosby’s crossover into television impacted the nation as well). Who is the 5th person in the background? Some say it’s Richard Roundtree, others say it Eddie Kendrick (of Temptations fame) or perhaps Quincy Jones. Others say it’s Mooney’s cousin Rudy Ealy who managed and cared for Mooney in his last years. IMHO it is Quincy Jones (Q was 5’6″ so he could be standing on a box or something). Only Bill Cosby, the only living identifiable person in the photo could possibly identify who number five is. It has been fun to read the online speculations. 

Mooney was a loyal and generous friend. I miss his calls in the middle of the night after a performance at the Comedy Club in LA or the former B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in Times Square, NY.  I miss his advice “Darling you should never cry; you are quite ugly when you cry.” So, I try not to cry around others. 

I met Mooney when attending Contra Costa College in the early 60’s when Mooney was beginning to establish himself as a comedian. In a Natural Science class, I believe, our last names started with the same letter, so rollcall connected us. Mooney began sitting next to me in class and eventually asked to copy my homework saying he was busy in the evenings working at Bay Area comedy clubs and other venues as he experimented and tweaked his comedy act. Oh, the parties he gave or organized. He could dance his a$$ off. I was recently divorced at that time with two young children. I was unlike most others in his circle at CCC who were a little younger, single and looking toward marriage and children. Mooney already had the twins (Mooney Brothers); however, he was not married. At the time I believed the only reason I was included in the gang (the IR’s) was because I did his homework. That’s really not fair to say; because I remained his friend until he died. Oh, the parties we had. Everyone at CCC wanted to know where the party was going to be that weekend. Mooney admonished us all to be secretive and keep the location a secret. The location was decided by Mooney. He even talked me into having a party at my small one bedroom. I reluctantly agreed. That was the day the inspectors decided to drop in on me in deciding whether to approve my application to move into low- cost housing. Of course, when the two gentlemen and one lady approached, the loud sounds of Gary US Bonds singing “I danced till a quarter to three last night, my baby and me” and at least fifteen to twenty people of all races singing, screaming and laughing at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, I knew my chances were over for getting into that low-cost housing unit. Mooney told me not to cry. 

During the last few years of his life, he asked me to accompany him on a comedy tour back east, I think Atlanta, GA. He was touring with the great comedian and social commentator, Dick Gregory at that time. I sat with him in first class on the flight back to the Bay. The adventure of being picked up and dropped off from and to my home was amazing. His cousin Carolyn and I worked the souvenir purchase table before and after the performances. What fun! 

His charm, grace and biting observations of life will remain with me forever. I miss you Mooney.

That’s me on the far left with Mooney and his two lovely cousins Alice and Carolyn as we celebrated his 75^th birthday in August 2014

I believe Bette Davis said the immortal words: “growing old ain’t for sissies.” Let me tell you as one who has grown old, whomever said it, they ain’t never lied! I’ll reach the never thought of in my youth age of 85 in a couple of months. When I started this Blog many years ago, I thought I would document my thoughts and events regarding the promises and regrets of aging. As I look back at my progress, I would grade myself an “F” for not posting my thoughts, realized and unrealized promises, and of course, my regrets. Since my post in 2020 life has been challenging to say the least. In September of 2020, I shared my thoughts as I sat looking out the window of that small room after being forced to move out of my lovely home into my eldest son’s and his family. The small room was my choice. I could have moved into one of the larger bedroom upstairs where the two couples slept; however, I chose the smaller room downstairs with a full bathroom next door. Upstairs, I would share the bathroom with my granddaughter and her husband. I thought I was being wise. I rationalized my intrusion into the night time of the two couples upstairs, the wiser choice was me remaining downstairs. Losing one’s home of over 30 years at the age of 77 was a devastating event. I did not know just how devastating it would become.

As I reflect of the years since the economic downturn of 2008, I made all the wrong decisions. With the unprovoked assistance of several entities of economic structure, I lost everything material: houses, possessions, a car, but most important, you lose your standing in the community at large as well as your family. And I believe, more important, you loose your status as the matriarch of your family. You now become the one who needs care and concern not the person that family members look up to. I had and still have difficulty in knowing that behind the eyes of my children and grandchildren, I am the one who has become a burden. When the bank, refuses to listen to your pleas for assistance, no matter your excellent record of on time payments or your high FICO score, they can choose your destiny. WTF chose mine. The shoulda/coulda thoughts still keep me awake some nights. I’m still carrying around the boxes of papers attesting to my attempts to remain the owner of my home. The slow loss of me as I was and the reshaping of me as I am now has been an amazing and sometimes humiliating transformation.

Let me explain what has happened to me, an almost 85 years old single female who regrets so many things. I’m sure my blackness may be associated with the issues I have faced, however; that is a small but not unimportant part of my challenges. I believe the major issue was my age and being single when faced with decisions that are life changing. Why didn’t I file for bankruptcy? Our current president filed five times I’m told. From childhood, I have been drilled (in my mind) of the importance of paying your bills and on time. Why didn’t I sell my home, before the foreclosure? I didn’t know that was an option. Besides I thought it could never happen to me. I was in the process of keeping my home through the Keep Your Home California program that California offered. I was approved for one, maybe two loans in that program. I was sure that I would win. When Wells Fargo refused to accept the Keep Your Home funds and transferred my loan to another lender, the dye was cast. In 2017 my home that I had bought in the 1960’s and had worked on: remodeling the Jack and Jill bathroom upstairs into two separate bathrooms, updated the kitchen, a new roof and fencing as well as new carpets, flooring and added the walk in closet in my bedroom and adding air conditioning and wall insulation to name a few projects over the years. My home was sold, against my will, to someone else. Oh, I hired a “lawyer” to help me file a suit for “Wrongful Foreclosure”, another wrong choice decision. After a year of monthly payments to him, who suckered me in with his “I left Haiti recently after trying to help the poor Haitian people, to help with people here in the states being hurt wrongfully by such banks as WTF…I hate WTF, they are a horrible entity, who cheat their borrowers”. I was hooked until that last video meeting. I sat in his firm’s office with his assistant while we communicated with him by video as he drank from a cup and arrogantly told me “banks can do whatever they want”. His assistant cried as I sat stunned.

It has become too painful to go on with this post. I’ll continue with part 2 soon. I’m in my apartment in a city near my youngest son. I’m adjusting to a new life at almost 85. I’m healthy and I still like to dance. I’m also looking into posting videos of me discussing my thoughts, for those interested. I’m old, but still kicking, remembering and dancing!

I can’t believe it’s been almost five (5) years since I last posted “The Window” in September 2020. We were at the beginning of the pandemic. I was studying for my masters degree in Psychology and Addiction Counseling. I was living with my son and his family. There were four generations living in the house. There have been many changes in my life as well as changes in the way I communicate with you. I am in awe of what AI will mean in how we live our lives. There are unimaginable things to come, I know that.

I’m older, I move slower. Since I last posted I’ve moved three times and was homeless for the month of August 2024. I was so seriously concerned that I carried a shopping bag (one of the large ones from a Home Goods/Ross/TJ Max types of lovely monogramed bags) with a couple of rolls of toilet paper ‘just in case’, a roll of paper towels, a bar of soap, a wash cloth and a large towel. Two (2) pieces of luggage were in the trunk of my 1999 Lexus with some everyday clothing. The back seat held two blankets and other essentials such as a bag with wiring connectors and extensions. I was preparing for sleeping in my car. Life can be a B***h.