50 Years Ago

As I gazed out the seventh floor window at UCSF Children's Hospital I saw a ship coming into San Francisco Bay. Riley was doing better and I had stepped out of his room. I gradually realized that I had been where that cargo ship was - fifty years ago!

We sailed from Manila, through Hong Kong, Nagoya and Yokohama with a rail trip to Tokyo. We visited friends in Tokyo and saw the big Buddha in Kyoto. This time it was a larger cargo vessel of the Pacific Far East Line, the Golden Bear of the Mariner Class. The ship carried Copra, Mahogany and frozen Tuna. A bigger ship was a dream to a teenager who had made the voyage to Manila on the much smaller Liberty ship the California Bear. Sailing the Pacific on a freighter was great. You got to know many of the crew and most of the officers. Regular access to the radio room and bridge and freedom to walk the deck in all but the most severe weather kept us busy while on the open sea. We bought binoculars in Hong Kong so I spent a lot of time scanning the sea and Dad and I often observed constellations in the clear dark night sky.

There were five of us; Mom, Dad, Len my younger brother and Paul who was an infant born in Manila. The meals on the ship were like daily banquets. We were often on a very tight budget during the four years we spent in the Philippines. Steak twice a week and turkey on Thursdays seemed like heaven. There were lemons and pears in our stateroom.

I clearly remember the building excitement in the hours before we saw land that day in March of 1956. We were up early scanning the eastern horizon. The harbor pilot arrived in a beautiful sailboat, teak decks gleaming. Soon we could make out the bridge.

I will never forget sailing under the Golden Gate. I looked up at those giant golden cables. I was home.