Catherine Sevenau's Blog: Writings~Rambles~Rhymes, page 32

4.08 Cutty Sark and Carleen

Carleen Barbara Clemens 4th of 5 children of Carl John Clemens and Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield Born: Mar 13, 1935, Watsonville, California Married: Mar 15, 1953 (at age 18), Charles Evans “Chuck” Albertson, Sonora, California Three children Carleen and Chuck ~ Chuck died in 1996, doing what he loved best, driving down the highway like a […]

4.07 Final Migration

Elizabeth Ann “Betty/Liz” (Clemens) Duchi 1939 – 2004 My sister Liz knew everything about everything—and what she didn’t know—she made up. Her library was lined with books from architecture, antique lamps and art nouveau to tomes on history, the human body and Henry VIII. She also had every field-guide on flora, fauna, and all things […]

4.06 I Must Have Lied

Liz and Catherine ~ When I finished writing the first half of this book, I sent copies to my family and had a few friends read it. They all liked it enough that I wondered if I actually had a “book,” so I ran it by Andy at my bookstore and he referred me to […]

4.05 My Sister Liz

Elizabeth Ann “Betty/Liz” Clemens 3rd of 5 children of Carl John Clemens and Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield Born: Dec 3, 1939, Watsonville, California Died: Oct 8, 2004 (age 64), Sacramento, California; lung cancer Married: Feb 1, 1958 (at age 19), Anthony Leo “Tony” Duchi, Jr., Whittier, California Four children Yesterday I found out my sister is […]

4.04 Elegy to My Father

Carl John Clemens (my father) 8th of 13 children of Mathew Sylvester Clemens and Barbara Nigon Born: Sep 25, 1905, Rochester, Minnesota Died: Sep 16, 1986 (age 80), Santa Rosa, California; prostate/bone cancer Occupation: Farmer, construction laborer, iceman, record store owner, dime store manager Married (1): Feb 4, 1933, Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield, Colusa, California Divorced: Dec […]

4.03 Letter from Liz

My Sister Liz (Betty) ~ A letter from Liz (Betty) to Lorna Harrington, her childhood friend: 4-12-2003 Dear Lorna, It is so great to connect with you. We have lived (more or less) in Fallbrook since 1985. Before that we lived in San Clemente, before that in Vista, before that in Huntington Beach and before […]

4.02 Letters From Claudia

Claudia Clemens 4th of 5 children of Carl John Clemens and Noreen Ellen “Babe” Chatfield Born: Mar 28, 1942, Vallejo, California Died: Aug 21, 2011 (age 69), Escondido, California; lung cancer Married: Sep 16, 1956 (at age 14), Bobby Milton McDaniel, Sparks, Nevada Divorced: May 1973, California Five children My Sister Claudia ~ Excerpts from letters […]

4.01 Unleashing the Flying Monkeys

Through Any Given Door ~ I imagine it’s no coincidence that my writing began when I was 53, the same age my mother was when she called it a day. Nor that it took me five years to write our chronicles, the same amount of time I lived with her when I was a kid. […]

Through Any Given Door, Part III (in full)

and the final third of the story… Through Any Given Door, a Memoir Part III Home Movies La Habra and San Francisco 1958 – 1968 (herein presented in full, sans photos) ~~~~~~~~~ June 1958 • La Habra, Orange County, California ~ I had my picture taken with our neighbor Renie, said goodbye, then Mom boarded […]

3.46 Sin and Prayer

Epilogue ~ My parents were like black and white, oil and water, sin and prayer. My father, not one to boil over, married a kettle of emotions. If he could have loosened his grip and if my mother hadn’t completely unraveled, perhaps my childhood would have been different. But it was what it was. Look, we […]