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Baby Grace 8 months
Vicky, Aimee, & Grace at 7, 5 and almost 17
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Aimee and Vicky
Vicky and Aimee 4 and 5 years old approx.
The Garrett's oldest daughter, Lynn Ann
An essay that she worote:
You know when I was a child, my father always had a great adventure in store for me when he came to pick me up on the weekends. I spent days prior, anticipating the fun that would be had in his company. Sailing off to Catalina, exploring the hills in search of goat and buffalo... A full day spent hiking as a young child unattended save for my brother, a mere 14 months my senior. Then back to the boat for a meal of fresh caught abalone that I myself chucked and pounded and my father fried up with a simple coating of egg, flour and a squeeze of lemon. The absolute best meals I have ever had the joy of tasting.Then lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of our boat. The smell of diesel always permeated the cabin and it seemed the bedding was always damp with salt mist. I loved it all... On days when we stayed docked at the harbor in Newport, my brother and would roam around in our dinghy, explore the inlets and homes that lined the shore front. John Wayne lived there, my father often took me to see his movies, frustrated me that he never died in a single one of his movies, til I was in my pubescence, "The cowboys" I was so thrilled they finally allowed him to be human, that was shortly before he truly did die, perhaps they were preparing us for that eventuality...to me as a young child, he seemed much bigger than life... always tried to catch a peek but never had success. When finished, We'd walk over to Balboa Island and buy chocolate covered bananas and look through shop windows. We'd spend hours fishing with makeshift gear made of popsicle sticks and string, then lay our bodies out on the dock, sun on our backs, and lazily view the mussels and crabs. At nights sometimes we'd drag our arms back forth in the water and see the ocean's phosphorescence come to life, than turn our bodies over and gaze up at a sky full of stars.
In preparation for these outings, I would plant myself in the highest branches of our front yard tree and begin my vigilant watch a full hour prior to his expected arrival. Inevitably he would be late, sometimes more than an hour so. I'd have been so full anticipation that entire week, I'd have scarecly paid attention to the teacher in my classroom, I'd stare out the window, recalling the previous visit in full detail, school bored me, it was real life adventure I was after, so much so, that when he finally arrived I thought I'd explode with frustration and excitement. These adventures began prior to my fourth birthday. I have changed very little since then.
An Essay which Grace did for her University Class:
How I became a Blend
Some people may ask me what I really am. And always with the same words I make the same explanation: my father is...bla bla bla, and my mother... bla bla. Some of you IELI classmates may have already heard this. Even so, many of you have not, so then this collective and now more detailed explanation can help me to not have to repeat it twenty times more. Anyway it all depends if you guys stop by this page and take a look at this! Besides, it I would be honored.
Next, the history of my pre-conception.
In 1977, thirty years ago, an American man from Los Angeles trying to have a change and a receive a new purpose in life, got on board his yacht, the 'Good Ship Grace'. Ben Garrett, as the captain of the boat, decided to head the course to the South Pacific. After a couple of months he arrived on the legendary Easter Island. Over there, diving and catching lobsters, he had an accident; suddenly some problem happened with the oxygen and without thinking so much he just came out to the sea surface not making the pauses required. Because of that he suffered what we call 'decompression' (The Bends). This means a very dangerous formation of bubbles in the blood. Consequently, he was transported to the continent, to the Chilean city of Valparaíso, where he had a special treatment in a decompression chamber to save his life. He stayed in a coma three days, and after this he knew that he would never be able to walk with the same ease. While he was a patient in the hospital, the crew members of the 'Good Ship Grace', left the boat and the Easter Island Natives stole it, and it ended up sunken in a bay. Years later in Puerto Montt, after going and coming back from the U.S. in order to build a Christian ministry in the area and recover his yacht, which definitely was hopeless, he saw the yacht 'Victory'. With patience, hard work, luck and the help of God, he was be able to buy it at a really good deal.
Meanwhile a young and pretty Chilean lady, Mónica Venegas, started to go to his church. One Sunday the pastor asked to the crowd if someone could give her a ride home, instead of making her take two buses and pass across a drunken people zone. Ben was the only one with a car and raised his hand. They started to hang out often and after several dinners of chicken with french fries, they started to be girl and boyfriend. Even though at that time he had no money, had walking sticks and 30 years more than her in his body, (I know, it's crazy), they fell in love and in this way, they got married. With the passage of time, this blend of races came to the world; half American, half Chilean, or in popular spanish 'mitad Gringa, mitad Sudaca', me. For he next 11 years as a family we would live in the just restored 'Victory' where many more adventures have origin as you can see in my last essay.
As you have seen, those two are my parents. They are still together, thank God. Victoria 'Vicky' and Amy are the new family sprouts of 9 and 10 years younger than me. Together we share the same story: How a traveling man who over came an uncertain future, found his love and his destiny 10.000 Km. apartf rom his homeland and how we became the heiresses of two such different cultures.
<><Grace><>
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