A Graduation of a Grandson in California
Robert’s oldest son, Ben graduated from Florin High School in Sacramento, California, and of course we had to be there. We chose to travel by train, from Ann Arbor where our daughter Catherine lives, to Chicago, and then on the California Zephyr to Sacramento. A train ride is a good way to appreciate the vastness of this country. We were on the train a little more than two and a half days each way. After pulling thistles and getting ready to go, we enjoyed just looking out the clean windows and watching the scenery go by.
We played cards. Percy introduced me to Blackjack, and we read USA Today which we found under our door each morning. Our reading complimented the trip. We read The Portable Western Reader, edited by William Kittredge and Percy read short stories by Louis L’Amour.
We had lower priced sleeper accommodations, which meant two seats facing each other about 40 inches wide which made a bed and a bunk that pulled down at night. There was a bathroom in each car, a shower downstairs and complimentary orange juice, and coffee. Meals were included in the sleeper price. The food was good; steak prime rib, salmon, and vegetarian meals were some of the choices. There were fresh flowers on the tables. The service was efficient and friendly.
At bedtime there was instant near intimacy with neighboring passengers in the sleeper. Bare feet protruded from under their curtains as pajamas were put on. Morning brought mumbled good mornings from sleepy-eyed passengers on their way to the bathroom.
One of the pleasant things about the train ride was the chance to chat at mealtimes and in the domed lounge car with many other passengers. A retired couple from San Francisco enjoyed a reading group who brought quotations to read to each meeting. Another liked to garden and still another had a landscaping business so successful that it now includes his sons. A Korean couple who came to this country in the 60’s was retired and visiting his son.
As the green corn fields of Illinois and Iowa passed and changed into the barren, brown of the far west, we spotted a family of foxes and a group of antelope. We guessed at the identity of plants along the tracks. We followed the Colorado River for 200 miles through steep gorges to open spaces. We watched rafters spin in the swift current. Some parts of Utah looked like wrinkled gray elephant’s skin; on other high buttes, we expected to see Indians, remnants of cowboy movies and days gone by. We went through the center of Reno, Nevada.
Near Lake Tahoe which we could see from the train, four feet of snow had been cleared from the tracks just the day before we got there. We were reminded of the Donner Party who were stranded in twenty feet of snow not far from there.
We arrived in Sacramento just one day before graduation day. We were very fortunate in the weather, sunny and warm enough for short sleeves and cool at night. Ben’s graduation took place in downtown Sacramento in a newly restored hall with gilded pillars. As each member of the Class of 99 marched on stage to receive his or her diploma, a teacher asked each student how to pronounce their name and announced it to the hall. They marched across the stage, received their diploma and had their picture taken with the principal by a professional photographer.
Eleven of the twenty-six students who were recognized for the highest GPA’s had Vietnamese names like Nyguyen, or Pham. The valedictorian had an average of 4.35. A+s and honors classes counted. There was a Gold Panther award for a GPA of 4.0 and 30 hours of community service. Athletes who had no D’s or F’s on their record and a 3.5 GPA were inducted into the Hall of Honor.
Some lighter advice was offered by a student selected by their classmates. Remember Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! 90210 is not what high school is really like, but if you are still watching it on Friday and Saturday, get a life! In 20 years you don’t want to still be living in your parent’s house. Remember all those chemicals you put in your hair cause only one thing – baldness!
We and our California family took a weekend trip to Lake Tahoe where we visited Harrah’s Casino. The food was good, but the never, never land atmosphere is foreign to me; the flashing lights, and constant din are not exciting to me. The kids won some stuffed toys in the arcade.
We visited Carson City, Nevada where they once had a U. S. Mint. In Virginia City I sat in a saloon under a crystal chandelier and listened to a trio sing sad cowboy songs while the rest of the family went down in an old gold and silver mine. I’ll never pay money again to go down in dark places in the ground. Percy and Jacob learned how to pan for gold and came away with a few grains of gold.
Lake Tahoe has incredibly clear and blue water. The spruce and rocks around its edge are restful to the eye. A monument overlooking the lake reads, “A man’s life should be fresh as river. It should be the same channel but a new water every instant.” –Thoreau. We later stopped at Sutter’s Mill where all the gold fever began..
Robert’s second son Joshua came to Ohio a short time after we returned and we have had mercifully cool weather ever since he arrived. He is looking forward to going to Cedar Point with his cousins.
– Mary