Nana Biography

And so this poor little girl was screaming when they brought him in it was missing that middle feeding. They would give him some water, but they wouldn’t give him food. Oh God, I could’ve torn that hospital apart. And I had to stay there five days, I think. Anyway, Sam survived and so did I, and he never had a 2 o’clock bottle, which was great. I nursed the kids. 

And life on the hill in San Francisco was a lot of fun. We were all navy people, army people, on the hill. We became very close during the war, because our husbands would go and come. Don began to feel guilty not being overseas, so he volunteered for the armed guard and immediately was sent overseas. A lot of our friends husbands were in and out. He did not get back every four or five months. We decorated the streets for the husbands who were coming in the next day. Where we lived, you could see the ships coming and going, and the war was to us horrible, but we had a common bond on the block, that was great. We had a victory garden and a nursery and I loved it.

How was it with his going away when you had two kids?

Oh, it wasn’t bad, because there was so much going on there, we were all in the same boat. We had community suppers, and there were friends. We were in an apartment building, and the people that lived on that hill are still friends. It’s amazing. We all send Christmas cards and keep up with them. Here I was with two little boys, then Don came home for a week and went back and so we know exactly when I got pregnant with Bruce. And then, it’s, I only have eight month gestation period, which was improved. The second doctor suspected it, so I only carried my babies eight months, which was nice. Living in San Francisco with rationing and all, was very easy if you’re alone. You don’t mind standing in line for butter.

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