House of Cards

So, after Daddy (Bill #3) committed several felonies, including attempted murder (three counts), assault with a deadly weapon (3 counts) and suicide, there was the small problem of what the rest of us were going to do. Part of the reason for the suicide was depression over the fact that his home-run business of lumber and construction was failing...had in fact failed, for the most part.

When the bank took over the business, they included our ranch in the deal. Mom had pretty much lost everything at this point...the only thing she had left was a house that Bill was in the process of building, on "spec" as it were...he was hoping to build it and then sell it...that being all we had left, that was where we moved...and that was where we lived for the next 8 months.

The thing about this house was, it wasn't quite finished...in fact, it was just a frame...the walls didn't actually exist as walls...there was no electricity, no gas, no water, no bathrooms...nothing but a concrete slab with some frame walls...no sheetrock, no plaster, no nothin'...this was home...

Well, we moved in, just before winter set in. Must have looked a bit strange from the highway...a frame set up with furniture, dining set in the dining room, a barbeque served as the stove, an old ice-box was the fridge...put a 40 lb. block of ice in the top, it kept food stored below from spoiling...at least not quite as fast. The bathroom was a hole dug out back...kept covered with wood, moved at regular intervals...scrap lumber placed strategically to insure privacy.

Fortunately, this was the winter of 1951-1952...the gangs of LA, if they even existed then, hadn't penetrated the High Desert yet...the people were actually honest...and in 8 months, we lost not a single thing to theft. Mom had some blankets, there were nails lying around...hanging some blankets made for acceptable walls and gave some form of privacy. There weren't enough blankets for the house, so every day, we would have to move the walls...

At night, the blankets would be around our bedrooms...and when we got up in the morning, we would carefully climb up, remove the "walls", take them to the living - dining area, and put them up. After eating, we would take them down, and put them where ever we were going to be. Mom would go off to work, and Pete and I would stay and "guard" the house...of course, we were 3 and 5, so guarding wouldn't have actually helped if anyone wanted in...at least we couldn't lock ourselves out...

Mom worked two jobs trying to come up with the money to get the bills paid, and get us into a house that had actual...you know...house parts. She would tend to come "home", fix dinner, sit at the table with us...and fall asleep there while we ate...

The hardest part about this type of living was the wind. It tends to get rather windy in the desert, especially in the winter time. This could be a problem if you have no walls...anything "blowable" couldn't be left out...so, when we finished dressing, our pajamas had to be packed away...when we were done playing, the toys got put away or they blew away...a rather expensive way to learn to clean up after ourselves...taught at a very early age...

After eight months, my mother finally saved up enough money to put us is an actual house...but she had to sell the house we were in to do it. Someone decided to buy the place, and gave us time to find a place to move to before they took possession...And they stayed there for at least 35 years that I know of...meanwhile, we rented a house not too far away, and passed the house every day on our way to school. The house is still there...at least it was the last time I went through Apple Valley...but that's been a few years...and the house would be approaching 60 years old by now...