I imagine I spent several summers with Uncle Bill, Aunty Blanche, and Kathryn in San Francisco. I remember them as being exciting days being Uncle Bill’s sidekick and watching him paint houses and work at his other profession: professional gambling. Uncle Bill would take me out to Petaluma to visit his friends who ran a cockfighting arena outside of town (and where he ran a blackjack concession that did very well), a place that was the center of activity on the weekends, particularly for the Filipino farm workers. He also would take me from time to time to pool rooms in Chinatown and ask me to sit in a chair downstairs while he “went to the bathroom” for a couple of hours. Invariably he would come down from the “bathroom” and say, “Ok boy, let’s go get Aunty Blanche and Kathryn and go eat pake food.” It was obvious that the trips to the bathroom were profitable.

Several times, Uncle Bill took me on his gambling adventures to Reno. Back in the 50’s, he had a simple rule: he would take five hundred dollars and when they were done, he’d go home. Often it was the other way around and he came back with significant winnings. I have never seen a man play blackjack with such success as Uncle Bill had. Over the years he won enough money to buy a large three or four story house on Jackson Street that he and Aunty Blanche turned into a boarding house for a number of residents. Each day Aunty and Kathryn would walk five blocks past the large city park on the hill and up to the boarding house to clean and do laundry for the tenants, several of whom I got to know over time. Uncle Bill’s career in gambling lasted until a few years before his death, when the Sherriff of Daly City changed and Uncle could no longer run his game with impunity.

In addition to gambling, Uncle Bill was a very proficient fisherman… primarily shore fishing along the coasts in and around San Francisco. His specialty was catching striped bass; he would allow me to bring them in, and from the shore we would go directly home and then to his favorite Chinese restaurant for steamed striped bass. It was heady stuff for a young kid to be included in these adventures!

Along with memories of Uncle Bill are memories of Aunty Blanche. One thing that pops into mind is the breakfasts Aunty Blanche would prepare for Uncle and me as we would get ready to go to work or to venture out on one of our fishing trips. She was a great cook. Eggs any style, thick slabs of bacon, and then, her special treat, thick pieces of bread fried in the bacon grease would start our day. Nothing the heart doctor would recommend, but certainly very ono! Aunty Blanche was also a consummate shopper and preserve maker and I remember the time spent with her at the farmers markets, the butcher shops, and bakeries around the little Fillmore neighborhood. The area was in transition from being a primarily Jewish neighborhood to becoming a mixed Japanese/black part of town. I believe it has again changed and has become a yuppie part of the city. She had her favorite

butchers who would provide the cuts she wanted along with the chicken heads for her cats and heart meat for her dog. When vegetables or fruits were in season and cheap, she’d buy large quantities of them and take them home to be canned in the dozens of glass jars that, when filled, would line the many shelves in their basement and find use during the long winter. It was an amazing process to be a part of.

The last, most vivid experiences with Uncle were our trips to Roseville, California outside of Sacramento to visit Bill and Lilly Kendrick. Bill was Momma’s first husband and a simple man who had worked at the bus company in Honolulu and was from around Roseville. He and Lilly, his second wife and a sweet, simple Hawaiian lady from Kona, lived on an acre of land with a very impressive garden. Lilly loved to cook local foods and Uncle Bill would always plan his trips to stay the night at Bill and Lilly’s place. I remember gigging frogs in the stream outback with a flashlight and then watch in amazement as Lilly turned the frogs into delicious fried frog legs we would have as a midnight snack. Bill and Lilly loved Uncle Bill and the love was returned in kind. They also became people who blessed me through the years.

I guess since Uncle Bill and Blanche never had children together, I was sort of a surrogate son. My cousin, Alpha, also become a favorite and a surrogate daughter to them and we all remained close as our lives moved on. Uncle Bill came to my wedding in 1968 and then passed away the following year from cancer. From that point on, our contact with Blanche and Kathryn was infrequent. I know that in his later years, Uncle Bill worked hard with youth in the Boy Scouts program in the Japanese community around his neighborhood. To this day we have many of the plaques that honored him for his work with young people. Uncle Bill was always one to extend a hand to those in need and it was a lesson I have always held close to my heart.

This week begins the holiday season for most of us.  It can be depressing, but it also can be an opportunity to celebrate all of the GOOD things we have been given through the years!  Let’s help each other celebrate the good things that have populated our lives.  The great people, the great events, even the tough things that have given us strength and encouragement on our life journeys.  Seek the opportunities we have over the coming holidays to reaffirm one another.  Holiday blessings to you and yours.