Blog archive
March 2024
Addressing The Needs of Older Adults Through Pasadena Village
03/25/2024
Coming Soon: More Resources for Older Americans, Online and in Person
03/25/2024
Community Building Locally and Nationally
03/25/2024
Preparing for the Future with Ready or Not
03/25/2024
Volunteering is at The Heart of the Village
03/25/2024
Women's Liberation: Then and Now
03/25/2024
Writing Memoirs Together
03/25/2024
Current Views on Current Events
03/20/2024
Unchained
03/18/2024
Rumr of Humor issue # 2409
03/10/2024
Blacks Portrayed by European Artists
03/03/2024
Rumor of Humor #2408
03/03/2024
February 2024
Caring for Ourselves and Each Other
02/27/2024
Doug Colliflower Honored
02/27/2024
Great Decisions Connects Us to the Worldwide Community
02/27/2024
Letter from the President
02/27/2024
Pasadena Village's Impact
02/27/2024
The Power of Touch
02/27/2024
Villages as a New Approach to Aging
02/27/2024
Addressing Gang Violence in Pasadena-Altadena
02/21/2024
Rumor of Humor Issue 2407
02/19/2024
Thank You For Caring.
02/12/2024
Rumor of Humor 2405
02/11/2024
Curve Balls
02/10/2024
Sylvan Lane
02/10/2024
Rumor of Humor 2404
02/09/2024
Larry Duplechan, Blacks in Film
02/03/2024
January 2024
Pasadena Village Joins Community Partners in Vaccination Campaign
01/29/2024
Rumor of Humor #2403
01/28/2024
Pasadena Village Joins Two Healthy Aging Resource Projects
01/25/2024
Decluttering: Do It Now
01/24/2024
Village Volunteers Contribute to the Huntington Magic
01/24/2024
Villagers Creating Community
01/24/2024
Villagers Reflect on Black History Month
01/24/2024
Walk With Ease, 2024
01/24/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Wide Ranging Discussion on Current Issues
01/22/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2402
01/21/2024
Rumor of Humor # 2401
01/15/2024
Re- Entry Programs, a Personal Experience
01/08/2024
A memory from Middle School
By Richard MyersPosted: 09/04/2020
It was probably 1957 or 58. I was attending Eliot Middle School in Altadena. It was an all-white school at the time but this year a black girl was enrolled. Her name was Deborah Sweeney. I supposed her parents were part of the “block busters”, the black people who were buying homes in the Altadena community. They were called “block busters” because once they bought in, “for sale” signs popped up on lawns up and down the block. “White-flight” was beginning.
Deborah was tiny and dark. I was big and blond. We were both excellent students and shared all the same math, language, science and history classes. We both wore glasses, were very smart and very often raised our hands to offer correct answers in the classroom. We were both very shy in those days.
Without really knowing her, I liked her. She impressed me She was neat, smart and smiled when I looked at her. Sometimes I would see her eating lunch alone. It made me sad. I wanted to invite her to join me and my friends. But I didn’t. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to.
After Eliot, Deborah and I both attended John Muir High School where there were many more brown kids. We continued to be good students and we did eventually get to know each other a little bit but now she had her circle of friends and I still had mine.
Today I am a long way away from Eliot and those years, yet I still remember the name, Deborah Sweeney. Over my lifetime I have thought of her and wondered how hard that time in middle school must have been for her. Those years are hard enough when everything is going your way and you have friends. How hard it must have been for her to be going through that age under those circumstances. What courage she had. What courage her parents had.
Today, at 75, I still remember her name and how she looked. I regret that I did not have the strength of character to reach out and make friends with her. I still wonder who she became. My guess is that she did something great with her life. She was smart and brave. I wish I could say, “I knew her when…”
- Karen -