peacock for a short time, and every so often an unwelcome rat or two among the field mice who migrated from the pasture to the barn and even into one of the duplexes.

On the Eastern edge of the property, girded by another gravel driveway and on three sides by a barbed-wire fence, was the original farmhouse that must have stood there since the end of the First World War, canopied by several tall, interlacing trees that were as old or older than the house, so that the house was always shaded and cool, even in the summer.

The original owners, Paul and Della Henshaw, a retired couple in their late 70s, lived in that old house with their daughter and son-in-law, Irene and George Read, who later built a house for themselves on the opposite end of the property. I suppose Paul and Della kept the chickens, the cow and the ducks for sentimental reasons. By this time, Rio Linda was gradually shifting from a farm community to a suburb (the process would take another 40 years), as the Air Force base,  whose ever-widening perimeter eventually

abutted our old country road, gobbled up this edge of Rio Linda. George, who managed the rental properties, saw the future coming, as the farm animals slowly died off and the pasture areas no longer supported animals or agriculture. The rental duplexes long outlived the remaining outhouses of the old farm, the last of which collapsed sometime in the late 80s.

At first my mother walked to work. It was about 3 miles. She was still young and strong enough at 35 to tough it out. Those were very lean times. We lived on beans and potatoes. Chicken was a luxury reserved for weekends and holidays. She emptied her coin purse one time to reveal what was left after the bills were paid: one lone, shiny nickel. It was an image that stayed in my mind for decades afterwards.

Eventually our circumstances improved, and my mother bought a 1949 Ford on credit. I remember that big, black, shiny, steel monster sitting in our driveway with its brown, vinyl upholstery heating up in the morning sun.

How my mother got her license, paid the insurance and upkeep, and maintained that beast is still a mystery