Random Remembrances
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Her name was Lois, blonde hair reached her waist, bright blue sultry eyes glowed when she smiled blending with her beautiful face that spread an aurora so radiant, you could feel its warmth. She was slender as most girls of fourteen were. At fourteen, I too was so slender I was dubbed Sliver and although I didnt know what I looked like to others when I smiled, it must have been acceptable. We met at the swimming hole in Ben Lomond, California through which the San Lorenzo river flowed on its journey to the Pacific Ocean at Santa Cruz. Sometime during the early 1900s a dam had been constructed with a fifteen foot gap at its center. Both sides were solid blocks of concrete about three feet thick. Observing down-stream, the left side ran approximately twenty-five feet into a sloping sand bank with the other side anchored into the solid rock cliff. Traditionally on the first of May, heavy planks were inserted into the gap closing the dam. It would take several days to bring the water to the capacity to create a swimming area some 300 feet upstream from the dam to where it became too shallow to swim but great for the little children to splash in. The width, considering the irregular contours varied between thirty-five and fifty feet. At the foot of the dam the depth measured almost seven feet, more than adequate for diving, this depth remained constant for 250 feet where the depth diminished gradually up-stream to several inches. The day after Labor Day, the boards were removed one at a time to allow the water to flow without causing a sudden flood. How we actually met: I swam across the river to the sand bank wide enough the lay a blanket, a bulk-head rose four feet or so to the upper level of the park area. I glanced up and there was Lois, standing on the bulk-head watching me. I noticed she was dry which prompted me to speak to her and ask her to come down and swim with me. She said she did not know how. I took the cue and volunteered to be her swimming instructor. She consented, walked down the steps to the waters edge, smiled, extended her hand and said, Well, a half question and half invitation.
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About the Book
Random Remembrances contains forty-four autobiographical sketches picked at random, hence the title. These are all true stories based upon true events, mostly during the thirties, the period of the Great Depression, into the WW2 years and later which include my wife and family.(The first, The Birth is mostly my imagination, but it’s true in essence.) Growing up then wasn’t easy, but that hasn’t changed, it’s just different today. This is what it was like without television, computers, and transportation other than buses and streetcars. Very few moms had an automobile available; you walked instead of public transit, which cost about five cents.
About the Author
An ordinary citizen born in San Francisco, California, in 1921, Louis Guglielmino was educated at the University of San Francisco, where he majored in business administration and minored in philosophy. His education was interrupted by World War II. He was commissioned and served for four years in the air-defense artillery.