November, 1937
Louis Guerra was a proud man. He worked for the City of San Jose, as a line/railroad worker. In those days, the rail was the main link to San Francisco and the East Bay. There were a few roads, mainly two-lane highways which have now become Interstates.
But back in those days, if anyone wanted to travel into the City, they took the train.
One extremely rainy night, Louis got a telephone call, which was a luxury at the time, they had finally gotten a telephone line!
But this call was not a friendly "hello! you have a phone too now!"...No, this was from his supervisor..."You need to come down to the site, RIGHT NOW!"
So Louis put his coat on and said, "I'll be back as soon as I can, watch the kids..."
This was in a pouring rain at 10 PM in the evening....
Louis had 4 young kids at the time...Daniel, the oldest....Mael (short for Ishmael), Elias, Dora, and Eva....
His wife was a very nice looking and good natured woman. She calmly entertained the kids by playing records and acting out the songs...she was also quite an artist, though just a hobby. In her letters, she would embellish the margins with detailed vines and illustrations, with a quill pen, she drew portraits of her children...Daniel loved her for that...her charm, and serene nature...And he also loved his father, but he also feared him, because his father was strict...and sometimes harsh.
In 1939, Louis had saved up enough money to buy a new car, a 1939 Ford....Daniel, 9 years old at the time, thought that he might please his father and wash the car, so he got a steel wool brush and literally scrubbed the paint off the door!
His father was outraged....he took Daniel to the garage and whipped him with a belt....until he felt a sense of remorse, realizing that his son was only excited and was just trying to help.
After that, Louis put his son to work, showing him all the aspects of automotive mechanics, "You must always make sure to keep your cars running, ALWAYS check the oil, and always check the tires...
and son...I know I'm hard on you, but I want you to survive in this world."
But back in those days, if anyone wanted to travel into the City, they took the train.
One extremely rainy night, Louis got a telephone call, which was a luxury at the time, they had finally gotten a telephone line!
But this call was not a friendly "hello! you have a phone too now!"...No, this was from his supervisor..."You need to come down to the site, RIGHT NOW!"
So Louis put his coat on and said, "I'll be back as soon as I can, watch the kids..."
This was in a pouring rain at 10 PM in the evening....
Louis had 4 young kids at the time...Daniel, the oldest....Mael (short for Ishmael), Elias, Dora, and Eva....
His wife was a very nice looking and good natured woman. She calmly entertained the kids by playing records and acting out the songs...she was also quite an artist, though just a hobby. In her letters, she would embellish the margins with detailed vines and illustrations, with a quill pen, she drew portraits of her children...Daniel loved her for that...her charm, and serene nature...And he also loved his father, but he also feared him, because his father was strict...and sometimes harsh.
In 1939, Louis had saved up enough money to buy a new car, a 1939 Ford....Daniel, 9 years old at the time, thought that he might please his father and wash the car, so he got a steel wool brush and literally scrubbed the paint off the door!
His father was outraged....he took Daniel to the garage and whipped him with a belt....until he felt a sense of remorse, realizing that his son was only excited and was just trying to help.
After that, Louis put his son to work, showing him all the aspects of automotive mechanics, "You must always make sure to keep your cars running, ALWAYS check the oil, and always check the tires...
and son...I know I'm hard on you, but I want you to survive in this world."
posted by Olias at 10:41 PM
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