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Looking Back to 1965-The Phone Call That Changed My Family Forever

A tragic car accident changed everything

I’m not sure when we got the call. I don’t know if one of my brothers phoned, or if it was my sister Lynn. All I remember is that it was one those fateful phone messages that forever altered the complexion of our family. 

My mom had been in a car accident. Teresa and I were about 12 at the time, on the precipice of adolescence and all it’s pubescent promises. 

Those promises would have to be parked. My mom was in the back seat, having gone to lunch with a few of her friends in Studio City.  

They were rounding Ventura Boulevard near Market Basket near my aunt’s Mexican Flea Market, when they were rear-ended from behind. Instead of putting on the brakes, my mom’s friend accelerated. The car went smashing into the side of the building, and my mother’s femur was crushed.  

In her younger days, she had been a professional dancer. As any athlete can attest, being immobile is one of the hardest challenges imaginable. Every family has its shares of tragedy.  

Show me a Leave It To Beaver household, and underneath, you’ll probably find some family tragedy. Maybe it was child abuse. Maybe it was drug addiction. Perhaps it was a brush with the law or some weird illness.  

Every family has its stories, triumphs and challenges. Well, this was our family challenge. My older sister Lynn was on the verge of getting married, so she didn’t want to park her plans to help out with my mother. My brothers were all in their own orbits, so the task of caring for my mom fell upon Teresa and me.  It wasn’t easy. 

Nine months in a body cast isn’t something many people can fathom. My mom took these hardships like a trooper; doing her best to rehabilitate, gain strength and mobility in her right leg, so she could become active again.  

I remember taking her across the street to our neighbor’s house on Pacoima Court, as they had a pool. There, she would do her exercises, as I shared my classroom adventures while attending summer school. We became very close during that time. 

I remember Teresa and I being being driven to Walter Reed Junior High by a burly woman named Mary Johnson. Obviously, my mom wasn’t able to get us to school, so Mary did many of the household chores.  

She wasn’t the friendliest of females, but her iron will held our family together, with a resolve I can only imagine. As the years commenced, my mom began to return to those activities she loved.  

Although her leg wasn’t the same leg anymore, she eventually took up golf after she married her second husband, Eddie Mayo. She never complained, even though one leg was a good two inches shorter than the other. Despite her setbacks, she tried to remain an optimist.

Most of all, she led by example, and to this day, I still hold those lessons she taught close to heart. 

And although she’s been gone for over 11 years, I still hold her dear to me when things are tough.  

Compared to some of the things she had to endure, my life is pretty easy. 

Thank you mom, for all you’ve done for me.

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Cathy Creswell May 25, 2013 at 03:27 pm
If this is a photo of Studio City in the banner up there, then it's a beautiful place. My mom wasRead More raised in Hollywood, and I grew up in Long Beach. The trees are really lush in that pic!
Allan May 30, 2011 at 10:19 pm
Born of the 4th of July and Johnny Got His Gun are definitely not movies honoring our veterans.
Sherry "Pawnuts" Brewer May 25, 2013 at 10:55 am
With all due respect, Mr. Ortiz, I'm curious about how much you sell the puppies for, do you screenRead More the potential buyers, do you take back a dog if the buyer can no longer care for it, what happens to those dogs that are not bought? I ask these questions because I volunteer at animal shelters and often see purebred dogs being dumped by people who say they cannot commit to the pet. In fact, a purebred Dachshund was recently dumped at the South L.A. shelter. When unwanted dogs and cats are abandoned at shelters and they become overcrowded, innocent animals are being killed to make room. I also recently met two people who "rescued" their dogs from breeders who determined that a puppy from a litter was "not perfect" and could not be shown or used for breeding. One puppy was taken to a vet to be put down, but the vet would not do it and instead gave it to a couple he knew would care for it. The other dog was simply given away, thankfully to a person who is caring and adores the dog. The puppies you are advertising are adorable and I hope they go to loving, responsible, committed people. I also hope you understand where I am coming from and why I urge people to adopt a pet from a shelter. I stand by the slogan "Adopt, don't shop."
Jo Perry May 23, 2013 at 08:50 am
I wish the media had countered Garcetti's claims with an examination of the facts and had exposedRead More his relationship with BIG development. Only the LA Weekly covered these stories--keep reading it and keep posting.
Barbara Krause May 21, 2013 at 07:58 pm
Oh, it was under announcements and not opinion so that is why I did not understand the post whichRead More appeared as facts.
John Walker May 21, 2013 at 05:14 pm
Presumptuous? What about my "endorsement" is presumptuous. You don't really need toRead More respond😃, I just didn't understand the comment.
Barbara Krause May 21, 2013 at 09:06 am
Somewhat presumptuous this early on Voting Day.
David Pearlberg December 21, 2012 at 11:00 pm
I attended N.H.H.S. in the mid-seventies. Mr. Reeves and Mr. Moelter were two of my favorites.Read More Loved Mr. McLeroy for Sociology.
Kim Phillips-Clark December 19, 2012 at 07:25 pm
great article Mary! Ms. Korney, she sometimes scared me to death! But always around christmas IRead More think of her and pronounce my letters clearly at the end of a word when I sing. I can still remember the song I had to sing for my final, "If ever I would leave you..." She taught me a lot. I agree with everything you said about Mr. Reeves. I had Mr. Pesin for Algebra, he did nothing to help further my math skills. The biggest flirt around, ick. We had a girl in school at the time that flirted her way to an A and hardly ever went to class. Go figure!! I also thought quite highly of Ms. Requiam. Glad she's still around.
Mary McGrath December 18, 2012 at 07:59 pm
Oh, that's so funny Suzanne....what a great story!
Miki Henderson April 27, 2013 at 02:27 pm
Is there a video of this minecraft from mr donovan
Rich Addams March 30, 2013 at 02:49 pm
Luv the bunnyleggos
Cheyenne Chasen March 25, 2013 at 01:00 pm
Love seeing the new entries each and every week! Keep it up!
Alex Daniels May 22, 2013 at 12:18 am
glad you lost Wendy...not even your mafia DWP bedfellows could push you through..now go away...
Alex Daniels May 21, 2013 at 09:05 pm
I also notice Wendy Gruel has no platform, except taking money from special interest (most notablyRead More her puppet masters at the DWP) and having one of the most negative campaigns I've ever seen......no thanks, negative Wendy, fool me once.....Eric is our next Mayor....
Jo Perry May 20, 2013 at 08:27 pm
The signs are everywhere! Please vote for Wendy, Nora. He is also running ads about Wendy GreuelRead More that he knows are outright lies.