It was October 1st, 1989 at 5:05 pm. The World Series game was just starting between the Oakland A's and the San Francisco Giants in the Oakland, California stadium. A 7.3 magnitude earthquake started at Loma Prieta Mountain, about 3 miles from our home in Soquel, California. Greg and I and Alicia who was about 1 year old were in the Soquel Ice Cream Parlour getting an ice cream. When it started, it looked like a wave coming toward us about one foot high. Greg grabbed Alicia and we went out the front door. A big glass window shattered behind us. I told Greg to run to the right, but fortunately he didn't respond. The whole brick wall on the right exploded and filled the sidewalk and part of the road. We probably would have been killed if we had gone that way. We looked at the bank building across the street and the whole roof collapsed. Fortunately the workers had gone home at 5:00 pm and the building was empty. We wen to our car and drove up to our house. When we got there Kaye, Bonnie and Jimmy were on our lawn.
At the house when the earthquake hit Jimmy who was about 3 years old was outside. He started running to the house and the quake knocked him down and he had a blood nose. Bonnie was running down the hallway to get Jimmy and she was knocked from one wall to the next on her way out of the house. She said that the water in the swimming pool in our backyard had giant waves that sloshed from one end of the pool to another. She ran out and got Jimmy. Kaye was out in the workshop at the side of the gameroom when it started. She started to run past the gameroom and the wave knocked Kaye off her feet. She watched our motor home parked in the driveway sway back and forth like it was going to tip over. Windows in the gameroom and home were breaking. The quake lasted 5-7 minutes. When it was over Kaye, Bonnie and Jimmy sat on the lawn and we drove up.
We were outside on the lawn when the 5.5 aftershock came. It sounded like a freight train coming down the canyon. we had many aftershocks during the next 3 or 4 weeks. We all stayed in the motor home. we had no phone, water, or electricity. Our house had raised in elevation 2 feet higher. We had over $300,000 in damage to our house and pool. Our house was really a mess. Our cupboards came down off the walls. The kitchen was full of broken dishes. Anything that was breakable, broke. Rocks came off our big hexagon fire place.
We were sitting there not knowing what to do a couple of days later when the men from the Elder's Quorom came up to help us. A contractor named Bren't came up and put our cabinets back on the wall. A plumber put our pipes back together. Many elder's came with shovels and wheelbarrows and shoveled up the mess in our kitchen. The Relief Society sisters fed the workers. We were so grateful for all that they did. We piled the broken stuff out in the driveway.
We restored it and it was much more beautiful than before the earthquake. It took many months to pu the house and pool and deck back together. We had to replace everything but the roof on the cabana. Greg and I jackhammered and wheeled out all the concrete in wheelbarrows through our entry hall to the driveway. That was the only access we had to the backyard. There was a pile of concrete 10-12 feet high, 20 feet wide and at least 30 feet long which we had to have trucked away. Bill had done stonework in our bedroom and the gameroom and not one of his stones came out. There was 10 tons of stone done by professional stone masons on our big hexagon fireplace and about half of the stone came down. The rest had to be taken down to repair the fireplace. We got a stonemason from Asland, Oregon, to repair out 16 foot high, 6 feet sides tapered up to a skylight that went all the way around the fireplace. We also had him do our entry hall, hall, cabana, and a study off our bedroom. We had a copper cap on our fireplace chimney. We put new tile counters and floors in the kitchen and bathrooms and family room.
The most beautiful change was the cement work we had done outside. We got a company that made the cement look like real rocks and they put a big set of waterfalls at the far side of our pool and fake rocks as a coping round the pool. They also made many large fake rocks by the pool and deck. It was really beautiful.
Cathy and her family and Marjorie, Kaye's mom, came through the earthquake with very little damage.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Brad's Death
Tragedy struck our home in 1981. On February 7th, Brad went on the annual school ski trip to Tahoe. When he came home he had a temperature of 100, sore throat and cold. We took him to the doctor and he said Brad had the flu and to give him lots of liquids and aspirin. Greg was also pretty sick with the flu and we thought they probably both had the same thing. In a couple of days we sent Brad back to school but when he came home he told us that he still had a 100 degree temperature. We kept him home a few more days. I suspected that he had pneumonia and told Kaye to take him back to the doctor and get a chest x ray. The doctor told Kaye he didn't need a chest x ray and sent him home. We kept him there a few more days and he wasn't getting better. I kept thinking he had pneumonia, so Saturday morning I was getting ready to go the office and Brad was sitting there watching cartoons. He just didn't look quite right to me. I told Kaye to take him to Dr. Long and get chest x ray and a blood test. Then again they said he didn't need them and sent him home again. I was very angry. During the period of time Brad asked Robbie to give him a blessing. In the blessing Rob said Brad would suffer like Job in the bible. after the blessing I told Rob that was very scary. I had just assumed that it was the flu or pneumonia. Rob said he didn't remember what he had said.
The following Tuesday I sent Kaye down to get an x ray of Brad and not to come back without it. Kaye got the x ray done and the doctor said they would call us with results. They didn't call on Tuesday so Wednesday I called the doctor and they said, "Yes, he's got pneumonia." He put him on Keflex, a strong antibiotic. Usually this drug works pretty fast, but Brad didn't get better and he started throwing up everything he ate. Lo and behold he started getting little lumps on the back of his neck. I told Brad that there is a chain of lymph nodes there and sometimes when you are sick they would swell up. A day or two later he got a little lump about the size of a BB on the top of Brad's head.
When they took him to an internist, Dr Pettrak, to see what he thought was wrong with Brad, he told me the lump was a dermoid cyst. I said, "Bologne. Dermoid cysts don't put up like that." A day or so later another little lump popped up on his forehead.
Friday I took him to Dr. Bekett, our neighbor who was a dermatologist to have the lump biopsied. It would take about a week to get the results back. Brad was still getting sicker. On Thursday Kaye called her father, R Adams Cowley, who was Chief of Thorassic Surgery and head of Shock Trauma at the University of Maryland to tell him about Brad and get some advice. She told him Brad's symptoms. He said he would check with the doctors back there and call me back. In a little while, he said he was coming out that night.
When he stepped in the door, Brad was sitting on the couch and he said Brad didn't look too bad and he said to Kaye, "You told me that Brad was dying." Kaye said, "I didn't say that." This was March 6th. Brad had been sick about one month. Kaye's father then sat down and started going through the symptoms. Trying to figure out what was wrong with Brad. The biopsy result wasn't back yet. He decided it might be leukemia. He said Brad needed to be in Stanford Hospital. The next morning on Friday we took Brad to Stanford. The doctors at Stanford examined Brad and thought it might be a lymphoma. I called Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz to see if the biopsy results were back. They said they were so I drove back to the hospital to pick them up. I read the report and it said he had some form of squamous cell carcinoma. I started to walk out with the report to take to the Stanford doctors. They told me I couldn't take it. I said "Bull shit, this is my son who has cancer." They said, "You can't take it." I said, "Watch me." And I took it out the door. Two security guards got on each side of my car and I just drove off and took the report to the doctors in Stansford. They immediately tried to determine what kind of squamous cell cancer it was. It was detected first on the first x ray as a small spot on the outside of his lung. Because he was growing so fast it caused the tumor to grow fast and it was now a large spot on the outside of his lung. This caused his lung to not inflate and deflate properly. They started chemotherapy, but they had to stop it on Wednesday because his blood was going wild. They told us there was nothing else they could do for him. We brought him home on Wednesday. We set up a hospital bed for him in the living room. Some of his friends and all of our family came to be with him. He had Duke, his dog, and Mr. T, his horse to see him on the way to the house.
Brad wanted me to quit drinking alcohol and get ready for us to be sealed as a family in the temple for eternity. I promised him that I would. I have never had a drink since then.
Friday morning it was raining, Brad was feeling pretty bad and asked Rob for a blessing to die. In the blessing, Rob told him that when the sun came out that Brad would go to be with Heavenly Father. About 30 minutes later the rain stopped and the sun came out. Brad said, "I'm going home!" Then he passed away. The funeral was held on March 17th at the stake center in Santa Cruz. It was over flowing with people. He is buried at the cemetery by Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz.
The following Tuesday I sent Kaye down to get an x ray of Brad and not to come back without it. Kaye got the x ray done and the doctor said they would call us with results. They didn't call on Tuesday so Wednesday I called the doctor and they said, "Yes, he's got pneumonia." He put him on Keflex, a strong antibiotic. Usually this drug works pretty fast, but Brad didn't get better and he started throwing up everything he ate. Lo and behold he started getting little lumps on the back of his neck. I told Brad that there is a chain of lymph nodes there and sometimes when you are sick they would swell up. A day or two later he got a little lump about the size of a BB on the top of Brad's head.
When they took him to an internist, Dr Pettrak, to see what he thought was wrong with Brad, he told me the lump was a dermoid cyst. I said, "Bologne. Dermoid cysts don't put up like that." A day or so later another little lump popped up on his forehead.
Friday I took him to Dr. Bekett, our neighbor who was a dermatologist to have the lump biopsied. It would take about a week to get the results back. Brad was still getting sicker. On Thursday Kaye called her father, R Adams Cowley, who was Chief of Thorassic Surgery and head of Shock Trauma at the University of Maryland to tell him about Brad and get some advice. She told him Brad's symptoms. He said he would check with the doctors back there and call me back. In a little while, he said he was coming out that night.
When he stepped in the door, Brad was sitting on the couch and he said Brad didn't look too bad and he said to Kaye, "You told me that Brad was dying." Kaye said, "I didn't say that." This was March 6th. Brad had been sick about one month. Kaye's father then sat down and started going through the symptoms. Trying to figure out what was wrong with Brad. The biopsy result wasn't back yet. He decided it might be leukemia. He said Brad needed to be in Stanford Hospital. The next morning on Friday we took Brad to Stanford. The doctors at Stanford examined Brad and thought it might be a lymphoma. I called Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz to see if the biopsy results were back. They said they were so I drove back to the hospital to pick them up. I read the report and it said he had some form of squamous cell carcinoma. I started to walk out with the report to take to the Stanford doctors. They told me I couldn't take it. I said "Bull shit, this is my son who has cancer." They said, "You can't take it." I said, "Watch me." And I took it out the door. Two security guards got on each side of my car and I just drove off and took the report to the doctors in Stansford. They immediately tried to determine what kind of squamous cell cancer it was. It was detected first on the first x ray as a small spot on the outside of his lung. Because he was growing so fast it caused the tumor to grow fast and it was now a large spot on the outside of his lung. This caused his lung to not inflate and deflate properly. They started chemotherapy, but they had to stop it on Wednesday because his blood was going wild. They told us there was nothing else they could do for him. We brought him home on Wednesday. We set up a hospital bed for him in the living room. Some of his friends and all of our family came to be with him. He had Duke, his dog, and Mr. T, his horse to see him on the way to the house.
Brad wanted me to quit drinking alcohol and get ready for us to be sealed as a family in the temple for eternity. I promised him that I would. I have never had a drink since then.
Friday morning it was raining, Brad was feeling pretty bad and asked Rob for a blessing to die. In the blessing, Rob told him that when the sun came out that Brad would go to be with Heavenly Father. About 30 minutes later the rain stopped and the sun came out. Brad said, "I'm going home!" Then he passed away. The funeral was held on March 17th at the stake center in Santa Cruz. It was over flowing with people. He is buried at the cemetery by Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz.
Our Condo in Hawaii
We went to a dental meeting in Hawaii. We went to Maui and stayed. We really liked it a lot so I started looking at real estate. Real estate was going so well in Maui that places in the planning stage were sold before they were built. We went over to the Big Island of Hawaii and we saw the Kona Bali Kai condos that were right on the beach in Kailua, Kona. I decided to buy a condo there. The real estate agents were Lil and Wally Lenty. I gave them a $25,000 check as a deposit. I din't have $25,000 in the bank. The first thing I did when I got home was to call my banker and she covered the check. The total price was $96,000 for unit 404. Real estate was just starting to take off on the Big Island. I went on a trip up to Canada and I started to think that I should buy another unit #409 for $96,000. I called up my friend and lawyer, Bob Ludlow, that he should buy one and he did.
One year later I sold unit #409 for some realtors for $210,000. They put it up for sale for $249,000. The market dried up and 5 years later they asked me to take it back. They had given me a $50,000 down paid me $1,700 a month for 5 years. I took it back. It took me two years longer to resell #409 for $155,000. I took a lot at Ponderosa Pines in northern California as part of the down. Years later I gave the lot to Cindie and Rob to use as a down payment for their house in Pleasanton.
We kept unit 409 for about 20 years. Since no one was using it after we moved to Oregon we sold it.
We decorated both condos and we had to use local furniture stores and even Woolworths in Hilo for lamps. They both looked great. Our units both had balconies looking straight out to the ocean. There was also a swimming pool and shops in the building. Our kids and our friends used the condos for free for many years.
While we were there we would drive all around the island looking at black sand beaches, Queens bath, the Volcano National Park, Hilo, lava tubes. After the Volcano would be erupting while we were there. We looked at the Perkin ranch in the middle of the island and all the sights in Hilo and all around the island. It was a large island and many things to see.
When we would fly over we would stay in Honolulu at the Rainbow Gardens Hotel for a few days and look all around Waikiki. We would go over to the other side of the island and go tot he Polynesian Cultural Center and all the sights on the North Shore. Once when we were on our way to the Polynesian Cultural Center we stopped to help a Hawaiian lady and her family who were having car problems. I helped them out and they were so grateful. They were surprised that a "Haile" Would stop and help them. She gave me the name of her cousin and told me to see her at the Cultural Center. We did and he gave us free tickets to get in. Every year after that for many years we exchanged Christmas cards with that nice family. We sold our condos in 1997-1998.
One year later I sold unit #409 for some realtors for $210,000. They put it up for sale for $249,000. The market dried up and 5 years later they asked me to take it back. They had given me a $50,000 down paid me $1,700 a month for 5 years. I took it back. It took me two years longer to resell #409 for $155,000. I took a lot at Ponderosa Pines in northern California as part of the down. Years later I gave the lot to Cindie and Rob to use as a down payment for their house in Pleasanton.
We kept unit 409 for about 20 years. Since no one was using it after we moved to Oregon we sold it.
We decorated both condos and we had to use local furniture stores and even Woolworths in Hilo for lamps. They both looked great. Our units both had balconies looking straight out to the ocean. There was also a swimming pool and shops in the building. Our kids and our friends used the condos for free for many years.
While we were there we would drive all around the island looking at black sand beaches, Queens bath, the Volcano National Park, Hilo, lava tubes. After the Volcano would be erupting while we were there. We looked at the Perkin ranch in the middle of the island and all the sights in Hilo and all around the island. It was a large island and many things to see.
When we would fly over we would stay in Honolulu at the Rainbow Gardens Hotel for a few days and look all around Waikiki. We would go over to the other side of the island and go tot he Polynesian Cultural Center and all the sights on the North Shore. Once when we were on our way to the Polynesian Cultural Center we stopped to help a Hawaiian lady and her family who were having car problems. I helped them out and they were so grateful. They were surprised that a "Haile" Would stop and help them. She gave me the name of her cousin and told me to see her at the Cultural Center. We did and he gave us free tickets to get in. Every year after that for many years we exchanged Christmas cards with that nice family. We sold our condos in 1997-1998.
My 50th Birthday
When I turned fifty the girls at the office threw a party at Castegnola's Restaurant in Santa Cruz. First they put a king crown on me. Then they had a belly dancer come in. Then they served me a platter with a silver top on it. When I took the top off there was a fake turd on it. Then a gorilla came in and sat on my lap. Don Conolly, my partner, gave me a 38 Smith and Wesson pistol for my birthday. We had a great lunch. Kaye and the kids were there and all of my office staff.
My 40th Birthday
We had just built our house on the hill on Muir Drive. I got up that day and I wasn't feeling too good. I hadn't shaved or cleaned up. I got a call from Ted asking me to go with him to look at a big redwood tree that was in a pond there. He kept going on and on about this. We finally went down to his house and he said, I've got to make a phone call. I sat out in the car and waited for him. He came and said "Let's go back to your place." What Ted was doing was getting me away from the house so Kaye and the kids could get my surprise part ready.
When Ted and I drove up to the house, Cindy and her friends had made me a "Happy 40th Birthday" banner across the driveway which I drove through. When I got out and went around the back by the pool there must have been at least 50-75 people there. We had lots of great food and crab and shrimp.
When Ted and I drove up to the house, Cindy and her friends had made me a "Happy 40th Birthday" banner across the driveway which I drove through. When I got out and went around the back by the pool there must have been at least 50-75 people there. We had lots of great food and crab and shrimp.
My Nose Surgery
In 1970 I had bought a new 240 Z Datzun sports car for $3600. In 1972 I was going home from work and a drunk pulled out in front of me and I hit him broadside. It totaled my Z out. I hit my nose and lip on the steering wheel. My lip swelled out big and purple further than my nose. I had a greenstick fracture in my right maxillary sinus, my ankle was all swollen and hurt. I found out 3 months later that it was broken. The top of my head and ribs were very sore from the collision. When I went to work the next morning my patients would look at me and laugh because my lip looked so bad.
I started having sinus headaches and my right eye felt like it was being pushed out. They would last about 12 hours, no matter how many aspirin I would take. Everytime I went to see a doctor about it they would say it's just Santa Cruz disease and to take nose drops. Over a period of 6 years they would increase in frequency until I was having them about 3 to 6 times a week. It was very difficult to work with these headaches. Finally Dr. Siftel, my ENT doctor decided to take an x ray of my sinus. My maxillary sinus was totally filled with infection. Antibiotics couldn't touch it so Dr Seftel set me up for sinus surgery. My dad, James F Pace, had fallen and broken his hip. He was in the hospital and was supposed to have hip surgery on the same day as my sinus surgery, April 8th. During that night he died. I postponed my surgery until after his funeral in Virden. When I went in to have my surgery, Dr. Seftel put a towel over my face. Because I had broken my nose he had to file and clip the bone out. I could hear all of this scraping. Then he had to punch into the sinus with a punch and mallet. He looked and said, "Oops, I got it into the wrong place." Then he punched another hole and got into the sinus. The infection was so thick he couldn't aspirate it out. Then he ran a little tube in to what he thought was the sinus to irrigate it. I felt like he had his thumb in my eye. He lifted up that towel and said, "Oops." again. He finally got the tube into my sinus and irrigated it out. He put about 20 yards of gauze in my nose. Then he put ice in a nibber glove and put it over my nose. While I was asleep my friend Ted Szychowski came in and took a picture of me with the glove on my nose. The operation was a success and I was so happy not to have those headaches any more. As a result of this trauma my sinus atrophied down to the size of a marble compared to the original size of a golf ball.
I started having sinus headaches and my right eye felt like it was being pushed out. They would last about 12 hours, no matter how many aspirin I would take. Everytime I went to see a doctor about it they would say it's just Santa Cruz disease and to take nose drops. Over a period of 6 years they would increase in frequency until I was having them about 3 to 6 times a week. It was very difficult to work with these headaches. Finally Dr. Siftel, my ENT doctor decided to take an x ray of my sinus. My maxillary sinus was totally filled with infection. Antibiotics couldn't touch it so Dr Seftel set me up for sinus surgery. My dad, James F Pace, had fallen and broken his hip. He was in the hospital and was supposed to have hip surgery on the same day as my sinus surgery, April 8th. During that night he died. I postponed my surgery until after his funeral in Virden. When I went in to have my surgery, Dr. Seftel put a towel over my face. Because I had broken my nose he had to file and clip the bone out. I could hear all of this scraping. Then he had to punch into the sinus with a punch and mallet. He looked and said, "Oops, I got it into the wrong place." Then he punched another hole and got into the sinus. The infection was so thick he couldn't aspirate it out. Then he ran a little tube in to what he thought was the sinus to irrigate it. I felt like he had his thumb in my eye. He lifted up that towel and said, "Oops." again. He finally got the tube into my sinus and irrigated it out. He put about 20 yards of gauze in my nose. Then he put ice in a nibber glove and put it over my nose. While I was asleep my friend Ted Szychowski came in and took a picture of me with the glove on my nose. The operation was a success and I was so happy not to have those headaches any more. As a result of this trauma my sinus atrophied down to the size of a marble compared to the original size of a golf ball.
Fishing Trips
On one of our trips, Greg and I were going out 150-200 miles out off the California coast to fish for albacore. I had just bought a $2,500 life raft that would automatically fill and break loose of the boat if the boat should sink. We also installed a $2500 EPIRB that would pop up and send a rescue signal if the boat sank. Greg and I were about 150 miles out on our way to the fishing grounds late a night and alone when all of the sudden the fire alarm went off in the engine room. Greg and I looked at each other and opened the door to the engine room and it was full of smoke. We cut the engine off and we kept checking the engine room and we couldn't see a fire, just smoke. Finally the smoke cleared and we couldn't see any signs of a fire or what caused the smoke. We started the engine up again and it ran fine and did to this day. We got to fishing area and started to fish the next morning. We saw a wonderful sight. It looked like several hundred of dolphins were following us. we caught some albacore and then our new $5000 refrigeration system froze. So then we had to go back in without a full load. Normally we could hold about 20 tons of albacore. I tried to contact the refrigeration guy who did the work and he had gone into the highway patrol and we couldn't contact him. I had to take the boat to another refrigeration guy who did the job right for another $5000. After one year I sent the new life raft to be serviced for its yearly check. They said it had a faulty valvle and it never would have filled up the raft if we had sank. We also got a recall notice for the EPERB that it was faulty and wouldn't have worked either. If that boat had burned we wouldn't have survived over 4 hours in our survival suits that night. No one would have found us in the dark.
Greg and I used to go fishing up north and anchor down at New Years Island just north of Santa Cruz and further north at Point Reyes by the light house. It was neat at night to see the flourescnse of the fish swimming by. It was a very nice anchoridge. When we were out fishing it was very exciting when we would catch the big salmon and the big albacore. Sometimes we would catch sharks, mainly blue sharks. Greg wanted to try long lining for black cod, so I bought a $15000 system from Mike Tyson and had it installed on the boat. Greg would put about 2,000 baited hooks on the line. We had an automatic barter. we'd lay this line in deep water for about 2 or 3 hours. When we pulled it up he would have about 2,000 pounds of black cod.
Some of the people Greghad crew for him on the boat were Allen Welch, Danny Lyra and Schulty's son.
Over the years, Greg and Bonnie had little Jimmy and Alicia. Jimmy who was 2 or 3 would spend hours on the boat putting down lines all around the boat when we were working on it. He would never cry or get bored. Greg and Bonnie got divorced during this period and Greg had custody over the two kids. In about 1989 or 1990 about Christmas time he pulled the boat in and decided he didn't want to fish anymore. He decided to go back to school and became a mechanical engineer. I sold the boat to Bob Lee for $125,000. He put $25.000 down and I took a note for $100,000. Bob Lee fished it for a while and then sold it to Lou who had Lou's Seafood Restaurant on the Wharf in San Francisco. She paid the note off to me over time. Bob Lee decided he wanted the boat and he bought it back from Lou. After Greg finished his degree at Cabrillo College and San Jose State he got a job at Lockheed and now Lockheed hires him out to NASA.
Greg and I used to go fishing up north and anchor down at New Years Island just north of Santa Cruz and further north at Point Reyes by the light house. It was neat at night to see the flourescnse of the fish swimming by. It was a very nice anchoridge. When we were out fishing it was very exciting when we would catch the big salmon and the big albacore. Sometimes we would catch sharks, mainly blue sharks. Greg wanted to try long lining for black cod, so I bought a $15000 system from Mike Tyson and had it installed on the boat. Greg would put about 2,000 baited hooks on the line. We had an automatic barter. we'd lay this line in deep water for about 2 or 3 hours. When we pulled it up he would have about 2,000 pounds of black cod.
Some of the people Greghad crew for him on the boat were Allen Welch, Danny Lyra and Schulty's son.
Over the years, Greg and Bonnie had little Jimmy and Alicia. Jimmy who was 2 or 3 would spend hours on the boat putting down lines all around the boat when we were working on it. He would never cry or get bored. Greg and Bonnie got divorced during this period and Greg had custody over the two kids. In about 1989 or 1990 about Christmas time he pulled the boat in and decided he didn't want to fish anymore. He decided to go back to school and became a mechanical engineer. I sold the boat to Bob Lee for $125,000. He put $25.000 down and I took a note for $100,000. Bob Lee fished it for a while and then sold it to Lou who had Lou's Seafood Restaurant on the Wharf in San Francisco. She paid the note off to me over time. Bob Lee decided he wanted the boat and he bought it back from Lou. After Greg finished his degree at Cabrillo College and San Jose State he got a job at Lockheed and now Lockheed hires him out to NASA.
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