Lady Barbara sat alone and dejected today. Two lifts came simultaneously which created a problem. My asthma had kicked up and breathing became a nuisance. Yet with Lady Barbara at my side, a cup of coffee in one hand, I became George again. I asked her more about the love affair about her two dogs. ( My daughter owns a service dog, a Yorkshire Terrier. I have grown accustomed to her bark.)
"Like I had told you George, our first home in Orange County was in Anaheim. We raised our eldest kids there. Sebastian kept Bella forever in heat. Sebastian hovered around her and anywhere Bella went, he was sure to follow."
"One day my daughter ran into the kitchen screaming. 'The dogs chased two men up a tree. Come quick and have a look! Well sure enough, outside my dogs had cornered two dangling men The dogs had circled them and one had his pants torn to shreds. I ran outside and screamed. 'Stop that, come!'"
"I recognized them. They were two linemen from the phone company. They apparently had seen the large bountiful supply of pomegranates. I warned them never to come back again. They jumped off the tree and the man with torn pants screamed, 'Never again, never again...from now on we will stay on our telephone pole.'"
At that point in our discussion I asked Ron to get me more black coffee. I did not wish to miss any of Lady Barbara's stories. It was eleven o'clock and I felt pleased that the Encinitas' Senior Center tuned both pianos for me-after all-I am an accomplished musician. I asked for more information about her first home in Anaheim.
"Well we had seven kids and always about seven dogs and a Ram. I just loved animals and like I told you George, I had taken a course in husbandry at Cal Poly and by gosh I needed it. I was forever giving away our litters to church people."
At that point in our discussion, we were also joined by Craig. Now our table looked like a large litter itself. Everyone wished to hear from Lady Barbara, a descendant of Henry the Eighth. A handsome chicken now was served to us. I cut her breast apart and softened the blow with olive oil. The chicken reminded her of an old friend, Old Man Mr. Knox, of Knox Berry Farm.
Well people came from all over Los Angeles to eat their pies. Mr. Knox and I always read the bible. He had a large old book collection in the back of the store. He asked me to help him shelve them for him. He allowed me to take a few books home."
"You mean those old George Washington and Henry books perhaps had been in his collection?"
"Yes. both of us enjoyed reading. When he didn't have a book in his hand, he tried to mix plants together to get a better quality of fruit. The back was a dirt floor, but he felt at home there. Also he did not wish to charge money for people to come onto his farm, but his two girls overruled him.
Barbara was fond of all animals and even took a class in Husbandry at Cal Poly in Pomona. Now how many ladies would raise a ram? Not many I can assure you. Before lunch had finished, she spoke a bit about her Mom-the significant other.
"When Dad left, Mom took up teaching again. She was forever reading poetry or listening to music. Her favorite book was the bible. We went every Sunday to a Baptist church in back of Bullocks Wilshire. With four sisters living her, we had a large number of cousins who came to our church."
" I sat up front and looked at the feet of the organist. I was in a trance. One of my aunts always counted to make sure we were all here. I couldn't get over how the legs made the energy of the organ. Too bad my Mom died crossing the street in Los Angeles."
Her ride arrived. She and the others walked to the front. It is never any old day with Lady Barbara. She is the queen bee around these parts.
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