 Music and Singing
Betty and I had organized an amateur string band at our church. I played baritone ukulele. Betty played tenor ukulele. Dad used to play guitar with us, but after his 1999 surgery, he could no longer remember the chords. Mom kept playing the washtub bass right up until she died. Close your eyes and it sounded like an expensive stand-up bass. We would often have the other band members over to our apartment for dessert and a practice session. Dad and Mom loved it.
 INDEPENDENCE
Our apartment building, Honolulu Park Place, offered some unique advantages that contributed to my parent's sense of independence. They could go for walks on the 8th floor garden area. It included a grassy area, walkways, a tennis court, golf swing cages and a Koi pond. There were shady and sunny areas with tables and benches. They enjoyed walks there. Sometimes they took their putters and practiced hitting golf balls on a putting green.
Sometimes they would take the elevator to the lobby area and walk to the poolside where there were patio tables and chairs. They would often play dominoes there while sipping a cool drink and chat with other residents.
Being in the downtown area, there were places nearby that they could leisurely walk to without getting too tired. That included the Post Office, super market, drug store, snack bar, Christian bookstore, beauty parlor, chiropractor, and two of their favorite restaurants… all within two blocks. They had their own cell phone they took with them so they could call us if they were too tired to walk back.
Being downtown had a romantic dimension. That’s where they met for lunches during the early days of World War II. They would often point and say, “That’s where we used to eat.” or “That’s the church I would go to pray during my lunch breaks.” or “That’s the store where we bumped into each other the day after we met.” MORE>
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