My diary - February 18-20, 1973
- Susan Fisch Good
- Apr 17
- 5 min read
February 18, 1973 Sun.
Dear Smiley:
Pat came over to the Hotel Irazu. Around 9:10. We talked alot. We then went trail hunting & swimming. Pool was ice-cold. We kids went to the restaurant and ate. Then more swimming till 3:00. At 4:00 Pat & I took a taxi to her apartment. Its neat. The have a Dos Pinos down the way so we walked there & had a cone. They live on a dead end & sorta like a cliff at end. We sat there & talk. Took a walk. Ate supper there. We stayed outside & right waiting for my cab that didn’t come. Gregg this guy across the st. came over & wow!!! Talked to us a good 10 to 15 min. I came home at in a taxi by myself. Mr. McClung was over.
BYE
Note: It was so exciting to see Pat. During the earthquake, we were all abruptly separated. I would love to reconnect with her now, but I have no idea where she lives or what her current name is.
Although a bit nervous, I felt like such an adult taking a taxi on my own. I loved Dos Pinos ice cream, but my favorite in Costa Rica was POPS.
The McClungs were good friends of my parents. Mrs. McClung was my sponsor when I was confirmed in the Catholic Church in Managua several years before. Her daughter Kerry was older than me and showed me how to wear eye makeup. They also had a son, Hernan, who was my brother’s age.
February 19, 1973 Mon.
Dear Smiley:
Got up & ate breakfast. I got mad cause I had to sit by myself. We went to the super & bought a few supplies to bring back. We got our stuff packed & off we were to Nic. We had B & C rations for lunch. YUM!!! Trip was nice & about 6 ½ hours. We stopped at Tip-Top to eat supper. Boy am I ever sunburned!!! Ack!!! Got to read on Doña Barbara. Wish me luck. Reports are due on Fri.
BYE!!!
Note: I enjoyed eating B & C rations but my brother did not! It was a treat to stop at Tip-Top as they had the best fried chicken.
February 20, 1973 Tues.
Dear Smiley:
School!!! Mr. Sanchez gets me so mad!!! He goes on my paper “I would appreciate if you paid more attention!” I have so much work to do. Spanish Report (haven’t finished book yet) History oral report (Haven’t started it yet) English project (haven’t started) History & Science test tomorrow!!! PHEW!! WISH me luck & good grades. I bet I flunk in P.E. & Math. I read papers. Outlined History, did Biografía del Autor in Spanish! Did most of math. Watched T.V. Got to study. Wish me luck & wish me luck in gym.
BYE!!!
Note: I paid attention in Mr. Sanchez’s class, but I was clueless about what he was teaching, which frustrated me, and I guess it frustrated him, too. I don’t think he came back the following year.
February 18 Sun. (David’s Diary)
Hi Snoop, Today was a good day. Couldn’t sleep good last night. Beck and I ate breakfast together. Sue was waiting for Pat. When she came we swam in the cold water and we really had fun. This hotel is a jinx. There is no horseback riding and the pinging is only for the management. Mr. McClung came today. His hair is longer now. He put on some weight. You know what was funny. Dad asked the bell boy for ice. Beck and I went to the machine and a got a whole truckload. The machine’s about 30 feet away. The bell boy didin’t know this. He went all the way to the bar and when he saw us he felt like going back. We ate dinner in the elegant restaurant. Good night.
(Studied chapter 7 in geography)
Note: Happy to see a good day and one where us siblings had fun together. I thought highly of Mr. McClung and I find it strange that I remarked on his hair length (which was usually a crew cut) and weight.
February 19 Mon. 6 hour trip (David’s Diary)
Snoop, Today I got up regular. We ate, went to the supermarket and drove back to (from) Costa Rica. We ate cold sea rations. Yuck. We had dinner at Tip Top. I had fun on the ride. Beck and I at the end, Sue, played car games. Sue was in a bad mood. Or sick. I got two geo tests tomorrow and I’m sleepy. It’s 9:05. Sue’s new expression is “Ay senore”. Stupid but it’s pretty cool. Dad got a little mad on the way home. I passed some gas in the car, got him mad. He also said now everyone help bring the bags in. He didn’t do anything. P.S. Dad just past (sp) some gas. Mom’s car was painted and the supermarket is open now. Ay senore, I didn’t use a whole page. Good night!!!
Note: Reading this reminds me that the earthquake destruction happened less than two months prior and things were slowly coming back. No comment on the gas passing! I don’t recall why our mother’s car was painted. My recollection is that it was always white. I believe it was either a 65 Dodge Dart or if by then she was driving the Plymouth Fury III hand me down from my Dad. I learned to drive on the Plymouth…Stick shift, three on the tree!
February 20, Tuesday (David’s Diary)
Snoop,
School was alright. I got good grades. Outside wasn’t so hot. Played baseball, at first I played good, home run etc. At end I did nothing better than a double. Cabra is a bad sport and can get one mad. Today I wore my Christmas pants. I forgot I had them. We had delicious spaghetti for dinner. The only problem was there were two kinds of noodles and the one kind hadn’t finished. Us kids didn’t get in any fights lately. I think they’re going to tear down one wall in our house. I got a geography test tomorrow. The HIngst are here. David Hingst has grown quite a bit. I’ve grown a bit but compared to him I haven’t. Good night.
Note: Today, if I hit a homer and a double I would think I did pretty well. I don’t recall any wall getting torn down in our house but I do remember cracks in the shape of large x’s on a few of the walls. Looks like uncooked noodles didn’t keep me from thinking the spaghetti was delicious. When you’ve been eating c-rations I guess you don’t get too picky!
Note: (Susie) The Plymouth is what David and I learned to drive on. Dad tried to teach me, having me pass a bus on the Carretera Masaya. He was yelling at me to go faster. I passed the bus but ended up in a ditch. He then had me take lessons. David did not want Dad to teach him, so he persuaded me to be his instructor. I did. I take all credit for his good or bad driving skills! It was a stick shift car.
First car in C.R. was a cute little Sunbeam...totally inadequate to haul the whole family, but they soon replaced it with a Land Rover jeep, as Dad had to start making field trips to remote regions. I was about 13 going on 14 then, and learned to drive on that. We could all fit in it and take trips to just about anywhere. Fun to drive, it had 3 separate stick shifts: a regular 4 on the floor, a 4-wheel-drive shifter, and a high-low range shifter. After a year or two with the jeep they gave us an anemic early 60's 6-cylinder Mercury Comet (Ford), with the "3 on the tree" shifter. We tortured that poor car with our frequent…
Well, Susie here we go again down the Nica memory lane ... learning to drive in Managua! Since we were private company people and not American embassy or military we could do it at 15 years old. Elario one of the Tabacalera chauffeurs taught me in our 1957 blue, four door chevy. He was so handsome - as far as I was concerned he was Elvis Presley.
At any rate since I could drive, I would pick up friends such as Bruce Newlin to play tennis at Nejapa Country Club.
Have never had better rotisserie chicken than at TipTop in Masaya - Talking about ice cream, what was the name of the little diner on Calle Roosevelt across from th…
The driving lessons!
Dad took me once and I did a last minute braking before the railroad tracks. No doubt we didn’t use seatbelts then. Did cars have them in the 70s?
That was the only Dad lesson. Mama taught us to drive but only automatic.
Enjoy reading !
Mg
Maybe someone who is reading this today will know Pat and put you back in touch with her. It seems you’ve reconnected with a network of people from those years and you know what they say about six degrees of separation. In this circle of friends and acquaintances, it might even be fewer!
OMG! I LOVE Pops, but also remember Dos Pinos from Costa Rica. I enjoy reading about how CR was back in the day.