June 22, 2015, Los Angeles, CA

This is the first day of our last segment, Panama Canal Connection, from LA to Miami via the Panama Canal.  We arrived in LA after our uneventful long 5 day Pacific Ocean crossing at   7:00am but we couldn't leave the ship until 8:00.  The departing passengers had to wait even longer for customs.  We waited for the Enterprise shuttle and got there at 8:45.  There was already a long line at the counter.  We finally got our red mustang at 9:45 and were on our way to Pasadena.

Coming into LA harbor

battleship

container platform, one of many  this harbor was huge.

More harbor

Container ships

Our afternoon trivia team:  Dennis Adams Shelby, Barb Gamer, wife of Dennis, Becky Rubin, Alan Rubin, David Case, Dorothy Case, Maryjane Wiley.  We had dinner together the night before arriving in LA.  Dennis and Barb went home to their condo in downtown San Diego.  We hope to see them again on our next cruise.

First we visited my 98 year old Uncle Kim Smith, my Mother's older brother living at Villa Gardens in Pasadena.  He is checking off all the countries he has visited in his lifetime, a total of 73!  He hurt his knee getting back on the cruise ship from Ankgor Wat a few years ago and stopped traveling.

He told us his career experience, from exchange student to Germany in 1938 and 1939, seeing Hitler and traveling in Europe on the brink of world war II. He graduated in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve Univ. in Cleveland, OH and went on eventually moving to California and starting his own company dealing with large machines which make things like screws.  

He told us an interesting story about how he met Aunt Patty.  David and I met under similar circumstances!  They went with friends to a skiing weekend.  Patty didn't want to ski and Kim had given blood and wanted to rest, so they stayed in the lodge together while her date skied.  They enjoyed each other's company and danced to In the Mood, maybe 15 times.  They spent the next day together as well and on the ride home, told her date they were getting married!  David and I met at ski resort in Washington state.  We each had other blind dates, but we only saw each other from the moment David walked into the room.  We talked all night and the next day and from then on saw each other every day and moved in together within a month.

Here is my quick dictation from our conversation that day including his story about being an exchange student in Germany.

Kim Smith, June 22, 2015 telling us about his time in Germany in 1937

I had a scholarship from Phi Psi fraternity, Case Western Reserve University, who recruited students to Munich Germany. I attended Technical Hochschule in Munich in 1937, arriving in June, and Sept school started.  I Stayed with a German famiy first in the summer, then Lived in studenten heim.  Was in Austria the day it became Germany, March 12, 1938.  Learned to ski at the olympic place at Garmish Partenkirsche.  The Olympics had been held in Germany  the year before.  There was a  Vegetarian restaurant nearby our dorm.  Hitler came there sometimes.  He was vegetarian.  He was Chancelor then.  Had SS guards and sat by himself.  Heard us talking in English and asked what was going on to the waiters.  We knew that he was doing to start a war, didn't like it, if we had had a gun we could have killed him, but we would also be dead.  Our 1st outing in school they took all the exchange students to a hometown and a party welcome, which we later found out was put on by Nazis.  Nazis paid for it all.  In Spring they took us all on a tour of the country for 10 days to show good things like the Berlin olympics area, and see Hitler and Mussolini give speeches in town square.  Kim was stopped for not saluting Hitler once.  From then on he gave the salute.  He saw yellow " Yuden" painted on the windows in Vienna the year before Kristal nacht.

Kim just finished a book, the Garden of the Beast.  Very good book.

Kim Came home in August 1938.  Chamberlain on Sept 18 said "peace in our time" and Kim was interviewed by the Cleveland paper and said it wasn't true.  Kim said,

I knew something important was happening.  I had my 21 year birthday when in Germany.  I will be 99 Dec 11th, 2015.

The painting behind us is of a merchant selling a gold goblet and the customer who is putting his hand below the scale to make it weigh less.

I've lived a full life and will be happy to go anytime.  Barbara your Mother, went in her sleep and that is what I would like.  I don't want to be sick and taken care of.

After graduation, Cleveland automatic machine co. asked him to get a job and he worked there.  Graduated as mechanical engineer from Case Western Reserve Univ. in Cleveland, OH. He was told he had to learn to be a machinist.  They Gave him a two year apprenticeship in the shop.  The company's Old plant was busy in WWI.  made the same machines from WWI.  Screw machines. The company got more business in WWII.  Kim  Got married. Before that, he Lived in a big mansion on Lake Erie with graduates from Case Western Reserve, and MIT.  They Had boats on the lake.  It was summer of 1939 during depression.  Kim knew Margaret Burk White.  Daughter of man he worked for.

in February Kim went skiing.  Had given blood transfusion and got dizzy skiing.  It was a WPA built place where you stayed in farm houses with a rope tow.  Knees shaking so he went into lodge and met Patty, who was the date of the fellow driving.  They spent day together.  In the Mood played on the juke box.  Played it 20 times.  by end of 2nd day they decided to get married.  They told her date, so he let her ride in the back with Kim on the way home.  Kim:  She said You will have to meet my father, but He didn't like me.  He worked for Union Carbide in Cleveland selling O2 for steel mills.  He thought I should have a better job with a big company like his. We Set date for marriage June 29th, because my Father and Mother's anniversary was June 30th.  Her father ended up in hospital after accident at a golf tournament at Canterbury golf club.  

So they were Married in small wedding instead in 1940.  1941 he finished the apprenticeship, went into sales, had to learn how to do repairs as well.    

Took care of screw machines during war - essential job, so he did not have to fight.  after war they drafted Kim, but changed their minds since the war was over.They  Left Dayton, OH in 1942 January.  They Drove to LA 6 days later.  It was 1942.  He drove Chevrolet, $905 with radio and heater.  No freeway.  Came on Hwy 66.  In Oklahoma it was snowing sideways, Hwy 66 was closed.  They drove South via El paso, then along Mexican border.  They first stayed at the Biltmore hotel, found apt in S Pasadena with swimming pool and tennis ct.  

My continuation of the story.  They loved California and Pasadena and stayed there.  Patty lived until her early 80s.  His son Gary now runs the company.  I have three cousins, Steve who lives in Jakarta and has one daughter. Peter  who lives in Lake Arrowhead.  He has a son, Benjamin who is in the motion picture industry, and Francesca currently getting her PhD in communication in LA. Gary is in LA. He has two sons, Kyle who is an attorney and just got married, and I forget his youngest son's name who is a machinist.  ( I have no idea how the fonts changed themselves here.)

After a delightful lunch and conversation, we drove to Huntington Beach to see Rusi and Chandrabala Alamshaw.  They were friends with David in Padra, India when he was in the Peace Corps.  They moved to the US with Rita and baby Freddy and practiced their careers as Social Workers.  In the Indian tradition of family, they brought their whole family to the US, which eventually was close to 100 people.  They consider us part of the family and we try to see them as much as possible in LA.

This time we arrived for masala tea and a visit with Sirena, Rita's daughter who was eating mango juice and chapati.  Rita arrived with Jag who had just won a President's award in school.  They went off to Kumon class, a math instruction program.  We showed them photos of our Indian trip.  Sirena loved the baby monkey movie.  She also saw street scenes of India.  After a nice Indian meal and visit, we drove back to LA to drop off the car and key and walked back to the ship.  

We got there at 8:00 and the ship left at 9:00pm for San Diego.  One person didn't arrive back on the ship in time and was left behind. That is why I like ship excursions, and why I was nervous all day --because we rented a car to drive very long distances in Los Angeles, CA for God sake.!  It was worth the worry.