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""Leno and Maria: A Success Story"" by Vincent P. Cano - 1985
Page 29
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CHAPTER NINE LENO AND MARIA TIME: 4:30 AM 1963 IOWA CITY, IOWA The perfume of fresh hand lotion mixed with smell of dry heat from the car's heater as we crept to our first stop sign. The snow plows had already removed any trace of the few inches of snow we had received that night. In its place, they left behind a shiny smooth layer of packed snow. The reflection from the street lights on its surface added even more to its brilliance and to its quiet strength. "Approach with caution." It seemed to boast. Accelerating from the stop sign, the car slid to one side as we slowly gained speed up a slight hill leading to the University campus and to the center of town. My passenger bundled in a gray tweed coat with matching scarf nervously nudged the car forward from her front seat. "There sure is not too much traffic on the streets this time of the morning, mom." I said. "I bet you did not have to get up this early when you and dad lived in Guanajuato, did you?" My comment caused her to turn her head sharply towards me in a high spirited gesture. " Are you kidding! Back in Botija, we always awoke before the sun. That comes with having to work hard for a living. That is why you should try and get your degree so you do not have to scrub floors like me or work on the track like your father. Working on the farm in Botija was hard,, but, the mountains and lakes were so beautiful. I used to take my father his lunch almost every noon. You know, that is how I got to know your father." We had just past the University campus on Clinton and headed east on Market toward Mercy Hospital. My thoughts were a million miles away as mother's conversation seemed to trigger my curiosity about their past. I never thought of them ever having one. Some day, I am going to have to take down their histories. "Mother...," I answered. "There are some things you cannot teach in a school. That something that shows in a person's character. Something special that you cannot measure regardless of an education. Last year, the girls at Regina High School who worked at the hospital, always told me how lucky I was in having such a nice mother and how you gave them advice about their problems. And dad, he, also, is very well thought of on the railroad. You know that I really never thought much about the meals you and dad put on the table until after my first day working on the railroad by his side. I was so impressed and proud that my dad had spent so many years and weathered so many seasons out there on the tracks for us. I never heard him complain about it either. I always will remember him coming home from work about 4:30 in the afternoon. You know, in those overalls, carrying his lunch box, wearing that tan straw hat with 29.
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CHAPTER NINE LENO AND MARIA TIME: 4:30 AM 1963 IOWA CITY, IOWA The perfume of fresh hand lotion mixed with smell of dry heat from the car's heater as we crept to our first stop sign. The snow plows had already removed any trace of the few inches of snow we had received that night. In its place, they left behind a shiny smooth layer of packed snow. The reflection from the street lights on its surface added even more to its brilliance and to its quiet strength. "Approach with caution." It seemed to boast. Accelerating from the stop sign, the car slid to one side as we slowly gained speed up a slight hill leading to the University campus and to the center of town. My passenger bundled in a gray tweed coat with matching scarf nervously nudged the car forward from her front seat. "There sure is not too much traffic on the streets this time of the morning, mom." I said. "I bet you did not have to get up this early when you and dad lived in Guanajuato, did you?" My comment caused her to turn her head sharply towards me in a high spirited gesture. " Are you kidding! Back in Botija, we always awoke before the sun. That comes with having to work hard for a living. That is why you should try and get your degree so you do not have to scrub floors like me or work on the track like your father. Working on the farm in Botija was hard,, but, the mountains and lakes were so beautiful. I used to take my father his lunch almost every noon. You know, that is how I got to know your father." We had just past the University campus on Clinton and headed east on Market toward Mercy Hospital. My thoughts were a million miles away as mother's conversation seemed to trigger my curiosity about their past. I never thought of them ever having one. Some day, I am going to have to take down their histories. "Mother...," I answered. "There are some things you cannot teach in a school. That something that shows in a person's character. Something special that you cannot measure regardless of an education. Last year, the girls at Regina High School who worked at the hospital, always told me how lucky I was in having such a nice mother and how you gave them advice about their problems. And dad, he, also, is very well thought of on the railroad. You know that I really never thought much about the meals you and dad put on the table until after my first day working on the railroad by his side. I was so impressed and proud that my dad had spent so many years and weathered so many seasons out there on the tracks for us. I never heard him complain about it either. I always will remember him coming home from work about 4:30 in the afternoon. You know, in those overalls, carrying his lunch box, wearing that tan straw hat with 29.
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