Nancy Suttles:  

GLIMPSE OF MY LIFE (May 6, 2013) My childhood was magical: I remember riding my bike against the wind, playing outside for hours, getting donuts from the donut truck, chasing tumbleweeds, rolling up my skirt at the bus stop (LOL), giggling with friends (especially my BFF Carole), always having my siblings around, dance lessons at the Pink Slipper, going to speech therapy (and being teased about it by a teacher....grrr), selling girl scout cookies, Norton AFB where my father was stationed, my grandma living with us, going to movies at the Arrow Theatre, camping with family and friends, being extremely shy, going to the Fontana Days Parade, being excited about the first day of school, hanging out at the library where my mother worked, my first date, my favorite teachers, my phone number Valley 2-9809, testing TV tubes at Thrifty's and getting nickel ice cream cones, A&W root beers, phosphates at Crawford's, roller skating down my block, going to the "Square", babysitting, my homes on Chantry and Taylor Ave., space exploration, the assassinations of JFK and MLK, my dogs Corky and Muffin, cats Tom and Joe, our Studebaker and Woody, the Cold War (diving under my school desk when the siren sounded), sleepovers, going to Disneyland, my father working at FOHI after retiring from Norton (and me trying to avoid him at school LOL), the old neighborhood "gang" (good times), talking for hours on the phone, walking to Bonano's for candy, endless barefooted summers, and not liking that my parents knew most of my teachers. But, most importantly of all, I remember feeling safe. I am lucky to have grown up in Fontana. My 18th, 19th and 20s were all a blur: College at San Diego State, new friends, roommates, studying, going to concerts, learning to handle new experiences, seeing my peers get drafted (going to war and too many not coming back), working at various jobs (factory worker, pre-school teacher, food waitress, cocktail waitress, bar maid-to name a few), parties, fun, excitement, the Vietnam War ending, protests, the Kent State atrocity, watching the Watergate hearings, civil rights walks, hitchhiking places before I got my car (seemed like a good idea at the time), getting evicted....twice...SMH, my father marrying and divorcing the Wicked Witch of the West, going to Aztec and Charger games, feeling the exhilaration and heartache of falling in love, hanging out at the beach, my childhood home being sold, driving my '65 Mustang way too fast, and hoping to make the world a better place (Crazy days). Eventually moved to Sacramento and landed a job working for the State of California (worked in various fields-mostly Human Resources and Business Services). Lost my mother to cancer while in college, and will always miss her. My 30s were career oriented: Worked, worked, and then worked some more (loved my job), bought a house and settled down in Sacramento, juggled career and social life (real tough..LOL), attended to...Expand for more