CHAPTER 1
Renette's Story
Where do I start to tell you about the beginning of the end?
Someone once said to me that a heart attack and mandatoryretirement are the beginning of the end. I have always thoughtit was a new beginning, and so it was! I am going to tell youjust a little about the real beginning.
I will go back in time briefly in order for you to get aglimpse of Danny and me. Danny was born in New York Cityto Rose Alhadeff Torres and David Torres; he was the oldestof four children. His siblings were all born in California. Mymother-in-law, Rose, was a quiet, petite, pretty lady born onthe Isle of Rhodes, one of the many beautiful islands ownedby Greece. My father-in-law was born in Salonika, on themainland of Greece (because of the very long drive, it's one ofthe few places on our vast planet Danny and I never visited).He was a charming-soft spoken, nice-looking man who adoredhis family. His occupation was a florist.
Rose and her two brothers came to the United States beforeWorld War II. Somehow, despite the war, she received newsfrom Rhodes about her relatives. Much later, after Danny andI were married, she told me a story that made chills run upmy spine. She somehow heard a horrific story about whenthe Germans occupied her beautiful island during WW II,the Nazis chained all her relatives (and many others, too) intosmall boats, and after riddling the boats with bullets, sentthem to their doom in the Mediterranean Sea. You may ask,why did this happen? The Nazi regime tried to get rid of allJews from the countries they occupied.
Danny's parents were Sephardic Jews, whose ancestorsemigrated from Spain to Greece, and so his ancestors wereall originally from Spain. During the Spanish Inquisition, theJewish people were forced to join the Catholic Church or leavethe country, and if they stayed and didn't convert to Catholicismthey were killed. The expulsion of the Jews from Spain tookplace in 1492, a terrible time in the history of mankind.
It was in New York City that Rose met David, (They neverknew each other in Greece.) They married and had their firstchild Danny there, in 1923, then journeyed to California whenhe was two years old. The Torres family settled in Oakland.As a young man, Danny served as a navigator in the USArmy Air Corps during the war. Danny later graduated fromUniversity of California, Berkeley with a degree in Accountingand Business Administration.
I was born June 14, 1929, in San Francisco, that year wasthe beginning of the Great Depression. My mother, Renée,was an only child born to Max and Henrietta Levy. She wasvery spoiled, and most definitely a snob. My grandparents, asI recall, were very social, and fun-loving people. Grandma,with her outgoing personality, had lots of friends, unlike mymother, who was cold, self-centered, always had a negativeattitude, and was extremely difficult to get along with.
My dad was an attorney named Harold Abraham. Hespecialized in criminal law and was well known throughoutthe San Francisco criminal court system. After school I wouldsometimes go to the courthouse, just to see and hear him inaction. He always told me I had a great gift of gab and saidI would make a good trial lawyer and could train in his lawoffice. Dad and I had a special relationship. He was smart,warm, loving, and had a great time joking around. He alwaysenjoyed a good laugh, and all of my friends adored him. Onthe other hand, none of my friends liked my mother who wascold with a rigid demeanor, for example; she never allowed herchildren to call her "Mom" We had to call her "Mother." Shethought the word mom was disrespectful.
San Francisco is where my two brothers and I grew up.I played girls' basketball, volleyball, and was active in theSilver Blades, a speed-skating club that skated on the ice atthe famous Sutro Baths. Unfortunately, that landmark haslong been torn down.
After I graduated high school in San Francisco, we moved toPiedmont, a small, affluent city in the East Bay, and I attendedthe California College of Arts and Crafts, and graduated witha BA degree in Liberal Arts. I joined a young person's groupcalled "Guys and Gals," a social group of young people thatmet once a month, located in Oakland, where Danny lived. Ihad seen him there but we never spoke.
The first time I actually met and talked with Dannywas on a blind date with his brother, Jack, and my friendBarbara Berman. We went to the Grand Lake Theater to see"Oliver Twist." The year was 1951. Danny seemed quiet, veryintelligent, but a little shy. He was definitely a handsomeyoung guy. We saw each other frequently thereafter and afterseveral months of getting to know each other, he proposedto me. At that time, I was also seeing a young man namedIvan, who was from Los Angeles, and an heir to a large pastacompany. He was "rich" and hung out with his close friends,Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie—you know, the Hollywood set.He had nothing on me, I was friends with Shirley Temple andwould see her every Easter vacation at her home in the DesertInn in Palm Springs. My folks and her folks enjoyed mutualfriends that owned the Wonder Date Garden and one of thelargest orange groves in that area. My dad raised Great Danesfor stud purposes and, showed them at dog shows; Shirleywas enamored with them. Shirley and I were the same age,around twelve when we met. We wrote to each other often.
My mother loved Ivan because he brought her gifts, andshe preferred the wealthy boy to Danny, who was from afamily of modest income, (Remember, I told you she was asnob!) When I first met Danny, he was working at The Houseof Flowers in San Francisco as a florist, and he was also theiraccountant. This shop had no connection with his father'sflower shop in Oakland, although Danny had worked in hisfather's business from the age of eight. At the same time healso delivered newspapers by bicycle with childhood friendswho later would become his "poker club" after high school,college and the military service. They met every month theirentire adult life. There are now only two guys left out of agroup of eight lifelong...
