First Trip in the New Fifth Wheel

Thursday January 16, 1992

Up and at 'em. Frank goes to the valley on business and I go to market and shopping. He spends the afternoon in the garage and I get ready for our weekend trip in the trailer. We are excited about finally going somewhere in it. We have a great dinner and relax at home.

I talk to Marc Ray. He says Shirley (his mom) is about to go in for detox. That's really good news!

I'm so glad that Mom was able to retire early from her job as a purchasing agent for a medical supply company. Shortly after she retired, she and Frank bought a fifth wheel so they could travel more. When I retired in 2007 my husband and I bought a fifth wheel within a month as well. That was when we had a line of credit and before the real estate bubble burst. Now I understand why Mom's entry for January 14 talks about refinancing one of her rental houses. They were using the money to pay off the trailer. They probably had a very high interest rate to finance the purchase of the trailer, so they were pulling money out of the house to pay off the trailer and another mortgage. It sounds like this weekend would be their maiden voyage with the trailer.

Alcohol Has Ruined Cousin Shirley's Life

Saturday January 11, 1992

Up late, messing around, the day gets away from me. I experience chest pain on the left side under my breast. It persists for 15 minutes. I walk down and up the stairs and it comes back. I'm worried but not ready for another hospital experience, thank you. I forgot to try the glycerin the doctor gave me. Next time. By the time I'm dressed and cleaned up, I have no more pain.

I hear from Marc Ray. He has bad news. Cousin Shirley has lost her driver's license for not showing up for an AA class. She's been drunk for several days and Marc can't reason with her. She wants to die. I try to console him but we both know there is little we can do. She admits that alcohol has ruined her life. I feel so bad for her.

We go square dancing with friends. Turners drive us.

Mom's cousin Shirley lived outside Sacramento in Citrus Heights. Her son Marc lived nearby in Roseville. Mom told me that Shirley would often call her late at night in a drunken stupor. She complained that her life was hard. I don't know who her father was, but her mother Ila was the sister of Mom's father Gerald. Shirley is shown on the left in the photo above; Aunt Ila is in the middle. Shirley's son Ray is in the back with his wife and two girls. How awful that must have been for him to see his mother kill herself with alcohol. His father had already died of alcoholism many years earlier. Shirley's sister Norma committed suicide in her 30s. Perhaps Shirley's father was an alcoholic too, as was Mom's father Gerald. Mom would patiently listen while Shirley complained about her life, and then she would encourage her to get help for her alcoholism. Shirley made a few attempts, but never conquered her disease. After Mom passed away Shirley drank herself to death soon after, just as her husband had years before. So sad!