The Tale of The Tales
Our family has a very interesting history. Actually, I expect that all families do, but not all families have recorded that history. I am fortunate in that regard. My father wrote extensively about various periods in his life. My mother also wrote about her childhood, an adventure in the state of Tepic, Mexico, and about ten years of journals, starting when Rae was born. My Granfather Utt was a prodigious writer, though he seldom wrote of his own life. Rather, he wrote about what he observed around him. On many trips to Mexico, he wrote a weekly letter that was published in the Santa Ana Register. He described the geography, the people, the culture, the economics, and the politics. He was never shy about commenting on what was keeping Mexico poor, and what might be done to make her prosper. Reading all those articles allowed me to know him better than I ever had before. My Mother-in-law, Aileen Wilson, saved all the letters that Barbara wrote to her. There are hundreds! We are in the process of "computerizing" them as I write this. I must confess that as a boy, and young man, I was not the least bit interested in reading all that history. For one thing, most of it was oral history that I had heard more than once. Then, of course, there was the matter of raising a family and making a living. There just wasn't much time for that sort of thing. All that changed when I was no longer able to work. I had time on my hands, so I started reading what was already in the bookcase, and stored in boxes. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. At some point, I realized that my memories might someday be interesting to my children and grandchildren. The task seemed rather daunting; where to begin, what to write about. Barbara's suggestion was to not try to write one big story, but to simply write about some highlights. So, I started with three very wonderful trips I took to Mexico and Baja when I was a very young teenager. The rest, shall we say, is history! In the beginning, not having learned to type, I wrote in longhand. My older daughter, Terry, typed them for me, I made corrections, and they were typed again. My younger daughter, Katy, printed them on a laser printer. All in all, it was a rather slow process. All that changed in 1997. Katy got a new computer at work, and offered us her old one. Neither Barbara nor I had ever had the least interest in getting a computer. We were getting along just fine as we were. I couldn't see that it would be something useful to me. Never the less, we decided to give it a try. Katy warned us that even though the computer was free, it would end up costing us a bunch of money. She was right about that! As soon as we learned to use it, we wanted to get on the Internet. That meant getting a newer computer. To make good use of a computer, one must also have a printer, right? I started doing my writing on the computer, which meant sharing time with Barb. I am a slow thinker, and even slower II typist, which meant that we really needed a second computer for me, and what the heck, a second printer to go with it. Recently, my children gave me a new high-speed computer for my 80th birthday, and I bought a twin to it for Barbara. I also bought a new scan, copy and print combination, so that I can scan old pictures into my stories. All in all, that free computer has been a great boost for the economy! So here we are, two old folks that wouldn't know what to do without our computers! As for the stories: I know that parts of them will be boring to some of you, maybe all of you! Parts will be interesting, and who knows, maybe even enlightening! Bear in mind that I wrote them for my own entertainment, as well as yours. The whole process has been a grand trip down memory lane for me. Special thanks to Barbara, who got me started on this project in the first place.Leigh Robertson