| Her birth place was San Francisco,
1944. During her early years, she and her mother lived with her maternal
grandparents while her father was out to sea as a Merchant Marine.
Very little English was spoken in this Greek household. In fact,
she didn't really know much English until she started school and her father
came home for good. It was his goal to take the test for American
citizenship which required a certain amount of English to be known, so
he forbade her to speak Greek when he was around.
From the very beginning of her memory
she was such a frightened and insecure little girl, and to this day she
has no idea why. Perhaps it was a presentiment? She was very
quiet and painfully shy; if strangers approached her she would begin to
cry and try to hide. As she grew a bit older, she was scolded by
her parents for this behavior and sometimes punished. In her memory,
the only time she seemed to feel safe was when she was alone with her Yiyia'.
And when Yiyia' would have some of the church ladies over for baking, she
would really enjoy herself watching all the activities while Greek music
was playing on the phonograph, and sometimes even being allowed to "help".
These ladies were always kind to her and she sensed that they somehow seemed
to understand that she was needing to be approached gently.
At a very young age, she was drawn to the littlest of nature's creatures
-- perhaps because she was little herself? She took such delight
in the lazy soaring of a butterfly across the sky. To see one dancing
on the wind filled her heart with such gladness and the wistful wish to
follow. Oh! to catch a glimpse of the jeweled throat of a hummingbird as
it darted here and there was a very special gift. And to feel the
slight tickle of a lady bug walking across her little hand would set her
to giggling, as though she had a secret all her very own.
Music....she so seldom heard it that
when she was around a phonograph, she would beg for records to be played.
She can remember when she first heard "When You Wish Upon A Star".
This became a magical song for her and she truly believed in the words.
When she was feeling insecure or frightened, she would sing this song to
herself and was always comforted because she believed that all of her dreams
would come true. One of those dreams was to stop being so afraid
of everything and everyone, and then maybe she wouldn't be scolded anymore. |
