More Chula Vista Memories

We felt so safe, and our mother clearly felt the same way, that I wandered the neighborhood from age 5 on, playing with those kids who were nice enough to include me in their play.  

I remember my youngest sister and me walking several blocks by ourselves to a corner market off Broadway (or was it Main) to take advantage of some temporary windfall allowing us soft drink purchase.   

Broadway had several large department stores,  none of them chains we would recognize todsy. I think.

On the other side of Broadwsy were the homes of what seemed at the time to be rich people.   My youngest sister and me went to the home of one of her classmates.   They threw me in the deep end of the pool, I think, to teach me to swim.  The memory was looking up at bubbles going to the surface and fear.  Obviously, they fished me out.  My sister does not remember this horrendous error in judgment.   (Nor does this memory lapse surprise me.)  It is impossible to make too much of this incident.  I have so many positive memories with her.

I remember going Christmas shopping with my middle sister in one of the department stores.  She gave me some money to buy her a Christmas gift after pointing out some likely gold plated earrings.  She then wanted to let me finish the transaction so told me bye.  I was horrified at being left alone but she expkshe was going bra shopping.  I was holding enough to know to be embarrassed and complete the purchase alone.

One more Chula Vista memory.   When the time came to move north (to the L.A. area), we rented an enormous (to a 6 year old) truck and after loading this open top truck I was perched in a chair at the very top, seemingly 50 feet above ground level.  Somehow, i survived.