Our Family of caregivers to our Manuel & Leona of PG. They too were caregivers to their parents who moved from Spain never to see their parents-our great great grandparents. Out of frustration I wrote this in one day. Lou

1. Manuel was in a trance, watching an unorchestrated feeding frenzy.
Stepping out of the toasty, electrically heated hallway early one
summer morning in 2010, I chanced upon a view of the most
fantastic theater. Overlooking Manuel's broad six-foot-four frame
leaned firmly on the old patio director's chair in the middle of his
sun-drenched garden, a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes burst in
and away. A bird and a squirrel, fluff and flap, tails and wings, to a
tune only they could hear, dancing and entertaining the feeder, the
gardener, the man. His thinning gray head, still upright, inevitably
attracted an attentive audience.
The sliding glass door was spotless as usual and bordered with crisp
curtains. The man and his wife have exact precision in everything
they do! The nightly knitting of sweaters for the young, the delicious
hot soups for the elderly brewed in the am. They both volunteer in
the same spirit and enthusiasm this community embraces
wholeheartedly, as the legacy reflected in the beauty of PG, CA.
The scene, as though magically set, suggested sounds that were not
there at all, like a cranking for the opening curtains that border the
fuchsias' hot pinks and the fluorescent color of purple from many
species of flowers. Lavender violets, orchids, and roses of every hue
make up the backdrop of this magnificent scenery—a scene right out
of Home and Garden or Sunset magazine. Only this scene is live, on
1104 Kenet Place in Pacific Grove, California!
The actors are on cue; they know their lines like the back of
Manuel's hand. And why not? After all, he's fed all of them for years.
Years before, his younger son, Jose, decided to return to live with
them during Manuel and Leona's late age. All that is missing is a
conductor!s baton. In a split second, the squirrel and the blue jay
scurried and flapped in and out of the bird feeder Manuel built long
ago. He made it from scrap pieces from all the years of remodeling
the house he and the lovely Leona have lived in for 60 years.
Lourdes U F Alonso

2. Meanwhile, the ‘Friday’ cat weaves around Manuel's ankles.
Suddenly, a splatter from the Koi pond nearby flashed a short ray of
a rainbow, small enough to fit into the elaborate stage of an Asian-
Californian fusion garden. Here it is, the central location for the
famous plot, the unison of man and nature. Appropriately, it is the
place for highly esteemed stars!
You have to inhale deeply to breathe in such concentrated air of the
rich and the famous. Just a stone!s throw away is the impeccable
Pebble Beach Golf Course. Earth Wind and Fire, Clint Eastwood,
Nancy Sinatra, and Doris Day all breathe the same Cypress Pine
air. Also its people with colorful diversity of Ohlones, Esilons,
Salinans, Anglos, Latinos, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish.
But none more valued than the high-spirited neighbors. One,
directly above Manuel and Leona's humble home, is Scott. The
single stems of roses he brings to the mistress of the house are
always cut fresh from his garden. An atypical bachelor in his late
40s causes one to wonder how his vibes flow naturally in sync
with the conservative couple. This is a stark contrast to Steve
and Julie, who live right across the street with two dogs and
cats and are childhood friends of Jose. And as youngsters of the
‘60s, neither of the three escaped the colors of psychedelics and
dents pounded hard by rock and roll. The delayed reactions to
negative comments, the simple delight of a cheerful
conversation, and the 'easy bro' approach as wisdom.
The weekly dinners usually occur at Leona and Manuel's, where
laughter and incredible plans to solve the world's problems stir
the passionate emotions of these unmatched individuals. The
beautiful golden-skinned, articulate, and opinionated Leona
steered everyone back to the delectably set table of old fine
china and silver and pressed linen Manuel had earlier sweated
over. He is pressing hot iron on cotton. Can you smell that scent
Lourdes U F Alonso

3. soooo…c l e a n! Only to be ignited with roars of belly laughs
once again when Leona's diamond-crusted ring finger points to
Scott's rugged, Robert Redford-fluff of hair to, "Get that g-damn
head out of the pot!" by the stove where Jose stirs the coconut
fish curry of his concoction to perfection. A pride in cooking, he
credits his grandmother Consuelo Alonso from Spain. And pride
in tilling the blessed Monterey earth with the same care as his
grandfather, Albaro, the greenskeeper of Pebble Beach in the
early days. With his dad, Manuel, Jose plants herbs and
vegetables for the freshest ingredients, content with his
accomplishments as the once renowned boat builder in his island
home of Guam in the West Pacific; he now settles for the third
wheel of Kenet Place.
Instantly, Julie blushes, showing magnificent bars of white
teeth, unpretentiously shy but worldly with enviable quiet
strength under her demeanor. It is by now infectious. Everyone
is genuinely smiling, laughing, and having a gay old time! This
causes Julie's husband to pour more tonic into the fresh glasses
of gin; he moves slow and thoughtful and a stir about him as
with a wink to life. Analytical Steve, with boyish good looks and
fit from years of surfing with Jose in the icy Pacific Blue of
Monterey Bay. It was a sport hated by Jose's parents but was like
a religion to Jose and Steve. The Yin and the Yang of past
difference and present respect, man and nature dance the same
tune when given the stage of opportunity.
By now, the nuts have been chewed or stored up, Manuel's
gentle snoring signals for a quiet exit of the squirrel and the
blue jay to dance to their hearts' content, satisfied with their
existence in the design of life of man and nature, with no
regrets because everyone lived true.
Lourdes U F Alonso