Rex and I
have a wonderful group of friends. I just printed out the invitations for our
annual Pratt Campout. I came up with the idea 9 years ago when I realized we
missed our annual campouts with that group of friends. We started when our
children were all small and we would campout at one of the beaches for several
days. We all had a wonderful time but as the kids grew up and left home, it
fizzled out. One year we rented a house in Newport Beach with two of the
couples. The other three couples weren’t able to make it for the whole time. I then
decided that since Rex and I have a house big enough for everyone to campout
in, and we have a pool, big yard and a patio, we all could camp here. It’s been
a great success and in a few short weeks we’re going to do it again. We sit
around and eat, drink, laugh, tell tales of the old days, look at photos, and
get in and out of the pool. We stay up as late as we like and sleep as late as
we want to in the morning. Sunday morning is great as we all sit around the
table reading the paper, drinking coffee, then gorging ourselves on a giant
breakfast.
This also
got me to thinking about all the other things we do with our friends now that
we’re older. We spend three to four days a week either going to dinner, taking
dance lessons, going to movies and plays, and anything else we can think of. In
the last few weeks, we’ve gone on a gondola ride through Naples in Long Beach,
taken a dance lesson, gone to the Art-A-Fair in Laguna Beach, and visited many
restaurants. We call each other on the spur of the moment. “Do you want to meet
for dinner?” “I’ve got tickets to a play, do you want to go?”
Rex and I
were talking on the way home from an evening with our friends last night and I
said, “You know, I just realized that the way our life is now is like we’re
teenagers again. Our responsibilities are few, and we spend most of our time
playing. The best part is, now we have money to play with!”
I’m really
enjoying this time of life.
.JPG)
Fifteen year old schoolgirl, Mary Margaret Riley, takes a job in the
Catholic Church rectory answering telephones in 1963. Father Antonio
Velasquez arrives at the parish having just been transferred from
Boston. Mary Margaret is flattered at the attention he pays her, and is
honored when he appoints her his special assistant. But when Father’s
compliments turn into inappropriate touching, Mary Margaret is first
shocked, then flattered, then inconsolable, but always silent. She tries
to approach her mother but, as usual, is admonished. Her dad, though
loving, is absent, which leaves Mary Margaret terribly alone to deal
with this manipulative, lecherous priest.
The California Gold Rush all but over, abandoned first by her mother who
leaves with the gold, then by her Pa who just leaves, fourteen year old
Grace has a lot of growing up to do. Vina Ranch in Tehama, California
isn't home, but it's safe. Still, Grace longs to be reunited with her
parents, and her new friend, sixteen year old Jesse Partain is eager to
help. .jpg)
.jpg)
