and he knew that she would be a very ideal wife and mother.
Even though he was involved in the most profane life
with his smoking, drinking and gambling she knew from
the way he loved her that he had a great reverence for the Holy.
She lived playfully with him in his play and he loved to
play with their little baby and with her in her playful delight.
In the baby book she wrote: “David looked like his daddy at birth.”
Under Recognition of Mother she wrote: “He recognized his mother
before he was three months old.” Under Recognition of Father she
wrote: “David thinks his dad is a play-fellow.”
David identified with the moods and feelings of their play and it
was written: “When he was 11 weeks old we took him to Gooding
to the Rodeo. He behaved perfectly and slept in the dresser drawer.”
Even that makeshift crib had something of their play about it.
And you can bet that many of dad’s high school football,
basketball, boxing, and track and field friends would have
been there in his home town to meet his wife and baby boy
and to welcome them into the friendship of their play together.
To end the depression President Roosevelt initiated work programs
and mother was ever so happy that her husband Joe was hired
to work on building a road up Warm Springs near Ketchum.
But then with winter approaching they moved down to Ketchum
and dad got a job dealing poker at the Alpine Club for Lew Hill.
And so a pattern began for mother as she tried to influence
her husband away from gambling and toward wholesome work.
He was a strong hard worker who loved exercise and good health
but as an excellent poker player he could make much more by
dealing at casinos and he could get jobs there very easily.
I.3.5 Holy War—Holy Pregnancy—Holy Daughter
By 1942, the Second World War was already beginning to rage
in both the European and Asian theatres and uncle Bob would
soon be drafted into the navy and there was mounting anxiety.
There are so many kinds of war: within a person, between
the sexes, within different groups, between political parties.
The opposition of differences is an obvious fact and is
the source of the problem of evil which is the challenge for
all peace makers and those inclined to ways of reconciliation.
In many ways the war of the sexes is the paradigm case for
it is the source of bellicose and rebellious trouble makers and
if solutions could be found for it solutions could be found for all.
The first classical model for building up reconciliation has
always and paradoxically been the moral equivalent to war.
During a war the people on one side ban together strongly and
work with much more zeal than usual to survive and prevail.
The apocalyptic religious view sees the conquering of evil
as the way toward reconciliation and the attainment of peace.
“Peace without justice” or “Peace at any price” are criticized.
A second model is the moral equivalent to pregnancy and
while mother constantly saw various kinds of war around her
she had to keep herself in just the right attitude and to
perform all the right exercises for the sake of a healthy baby.
And she was highly motivated by the thought that whatever she
preferred, desired, thought, said or did was done to her baby.
And her new baby girl, Bette Jo, was born and again
the child was loved by all so that all loved each other.
And the quadratic logic of the little family had new blessings.
David was so happy with his new little sister and mother
loved the new happiness of father for his new daughter.
And each was as happy as a child and the way to reconciliation
also was seen as the moral equivalent to the joyful child.
I.3.6 The Holy and the Sacred
Daddy quickly made the money dealing cards at the saloon
so that their new house could be built down under the hill.
Then before they knew it daddy was called to do war duty
in a ship plant at Bremerton near Seattle, Washington.
They sold their home to Whitey Hirshman, a gambler friend
of daddy’s and he drove their car to Port Orchard, a little town
on the Puget Sound where he found a house that they could rent.
Mother with myself and Bette Jo who was of course, only a baby
took the train day and night and day to Seattle where
daddy met us and he took us to our new home in a strange place.
Daddy left early each morning to take the Ferry to the Port to work.
Meanwhile Uncle Tony, Aunt Mid’s husband, and Uncle Bob
were drafted into the army and navy respectively and Gramma
and Grandpa Coates went to Portland, Oregon, for defense work.
Gramma was constantly worrying about her son and son-in-law
and
