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My Story

39. Emerging Town

by 동쪽구름 2021. 2. 1.

In 80’s, Palmdale and Lancaster were known to be the next boom towns. Home prices in Los Angeles and the Valley were rising while there was abundance of land in Palmdale and Lancaster area. The land was relatively still cheap. They built tons of nice new track homes there. There was a huge air force base between Palmdale and Lancaster. The rumor was that they would open commercial airport there. It would become an international airport and high-speed train would run thru the area.

 

Several people at work bought houses and moved there. Kids were growing and I needed a house with the nice back yard. Lancaster was 70 miles drive, 1 ½ hour distance, from Los Angeles. I bought a house in Lancaster and moved.

 

Neighbors in the housing track were about my age, 30-40, and most of them had 2-3 kids. It reminded me of my childhood home in Gu Pa Bal. Young kids mowed the lawn and washed the cars. Scott was not familiar with the yard works. If he neglected and let the grass grown, a boy in the neighborhood, his friend, came over and cut our lawn when we were not around. 

 

Next door neighbor was an air force mechanic. His daughter, Monique, was in Scott’s grade. That family was a good neighbor and I got lots of good local information from them. Closest market was 3 miles drive. If we needed an egg or sugar while preparing a meal, we went to the next door and borrowed them. And they did the same. When Scott had the chicken pox and couldn’t go to school, Monique brought him school works. By the time Scott recovered from the chicken pox, Monique got it and we gave her Calamine lotion he used. 

 

A neighbor, father of three sons, collided with the train on his way to work one morning and died. Neighbors collected money and helped the family with the funeral. On Halloween, kids did not have to go far. They got enough candies just walking around the homes in the track. 

 

I learned the difference in academic level between the city schools and countryside ones. The local paper ran the names of kids with the top grades every month. Scott’s name was always there. He did well when we lived in the Valley, but not the top of the class. 

 

Lancaster had the desert weather. Temperature changed dramatically from day to night. It was hot in summer and cold in winter. It got very windy too. Tumble weeds, round dry weeds you can see in Western movies, would roll around the roads. We had showers in summer and snow in winter. 

 

Front windshield of the car got frozen and I had to pour warm water to melt it in winter. On one snowy morning, I tried to go to work. I never drove on the snow-covered road and did not have the chain. The car had its own mind and would not follow my direction. I turned around and went back home. The schools were closed. Kids brought plastic trach can lids and used them as sleighs. They even made small snowmen. 

 

I had to fill up the car every other day. Gas money was the burden.

 

Further north of Lancaster was Edward Air Base. Once I got US citizenship, I applied for the federal job. I even had a job interview. My experience with the state did not help much. They offered me the entry level clerical position. The pay was too low and I did not take the job. If I took that federal job, my life would have gone to another direction. 

 

Since there were air bases and other military facilities around, there were lots of military personnel, retirees, and their families. We got to know a Korean air force sergeant. His kids were my kids ages. Sometimes we got together for the meals. His wife wanted him to transfer to Korea. He got transferred to Korea and we all envied them. I heard he met a young woman in Korea and left his wife. 

 

I was spending 3 hours, 1 ½ hour each way, for commute on the road. Finally, I sold the house and moved back to the Valley. In two years, I lived in Lancaster, I earned some debts, old car, and Semi, my daughter. 

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