Sue Flores:
CLASS OF 1969
Burroughs High SchoolClass of 1969
Ridgecrest, CA
Sue's Story
Well, I'm finally getting around to putting my story here. I left Ridgecrest the summer of graduation. Paula Brown and I moved to Turlock to live with her grandparents and go to MJC. Once Paula left, I stayed. Finished my education at JC, went to Stan State and then on to UCD for BS in nursing and certificate in Workers' Compensation. I went to work for Memorial Medical Center in 1973 and I am still here. I love my job, always have, love being part of this Level II Emergency/Trauma Center. I started and still head the Workers' Comp Program in the Emergency Department which just means that I do case management and lots of computer and paperwork. Haven't done patient care in years. I married in 1975, divorced in 1977 and remarried same man in 1980. We parted good friends in 2000 the same year my father died. My dad was my last tether to Ridgecrest so haven't been back since the funeral. I live in the Central Valley, a stone's throw away from the City, San Francisco, about 2 hours from Montery and 2 hours from Dodge Ridge Skiing. If you've heard of the Gallo's and their wine then you know where I live.
Manuel and I did not have any children
but my brother had two, a boy and girl. I am very close to both of them and each has given me the right to claim title of "great" Aunt Sue to their children, again one of each. Sadly none of them live in CA any longer. My brother, his wife and my niece live in Odessa MO and my nephew Michael, his wife and new son live in Ft. Smith, AK. Either I travel back to visit them or fly them out to visit me but we get together at least twice a year. I just turned 58 but have no desire to retire yet especially since traveling to Europe is my favorite thing to do and my job affords me the ability to get there every 2 to 3 years. I love Italy and hope, when I sell my house, to take some of the money and live in Europe for a year or so with my base in Italy. Traveling abroad has been such a treasured part of my life. I love everything about it. Even the trials, tribulations, mishaps or misadventures just add more spice to the memories. I'm less a type A personality when I'm over there. I just row with the flow and have learned I can talk to anyone be it with my hands, facial expressions, grunts or just pointing at pictures. I don't stress over there like I do here. Even the crazy, run you off the road French drivers can't fluster my calm. My fingers might be clenched white on the steering wheel but outwardly I'm calm. Lest you think I've don't appreciate the US, I have also traveled it extensively from east to west. Not too hard to imagine since I was actually born in upstate New York in a city calle...Expand for more
d Elmira. If you are a fan of Law and Order you've heard the police mention going up to Elmire State Pen to see an inmate. My mother, Dorothy Coleman, continued to live there when she and my dad divorced and I have cousins, half brothers and sisters who live up and down the east coast plus Ohio and PA too.
I love to garden, flowers mostly, but tomatoes, cukes, and some herbs too. My backyard is pretty big with the main portion of it in the shade from all of the trees. I have a sunny south side of the house without trees for those flowers requiring 6-8 hours but it's the smaller portion of the yard. My shady area has an olive tree, a Deodor cedar, two orange trees, 2 lemons, 1 guave, 1 white fig, 1 grapefruit, a huge, very tall redwood, two big magnolias, 3 palm trees and a rather large crepe myrtle. I kid you not but I wish I was because the cost of keeping up with just the trimming is very expensive and time consuming. Not to mention cleaning up the dropped fruit. I have removed a few trees too. I took out the persimmon, 2 bottle brush trees and a kumquate. I think one of the orange trees is going to need to go this summer. They are growing into each too much and the fruit is suffering. My tree man says one of magnolias should go soon as it is also getting too big for the area.
Ah well, it's a lot of upkeep but I love the house and fought to keep it when Manuel and I parted company the second time. I have actually collected quite a set of tools so that I can do most of the repairs myself. I now understand why men like to go shopping at places like HomeDepot and Lowe's. Having the right tools makes all of the difference in getting the job done correctly and in a timely manner. My HomeDepot card gets a bigger work out than any other. I've become a pretty fair plummer, painter, tile layer and roof manager. My house has a flat tar and composite roof with tongue in groove wood and beamed semi cathederal ceilings. Twice this last year alone I've hauled my big old bottom up to the roof to put fresh blackjack around the outlets and seams and blow off the fall leaves. Not so scary getting up but hell getting down. Last time I was up there I wigged out trying to get down because the ladder kept jogging around. I ended up sitting on the roof for 45 extra minutes until I saw my neighbor Jared and his wife Karyn come home. I yelled out and asked him to hold the ladder so I could get down. Now, at his and my brother's suggestion, I take my cell phone up with me so I can call for help instead of hanging out up there hoping one of my neighbors come home sometime soon. So...have you had enough? Well, I have. I'm heading to bed now. SF
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