Relief Home Short Story

We had an excellent view from our relief house located in what would become Golden Gate Park. It would be our home for the next six months. Our home was a 600 square foot block made of redwood and fir lumber covered with olive green army canvas.

Most of our time was spent waiting in lines at the temporary food kitchens stationed at the center of the park.

When father came home for the evening, he would make sure mum was comfortable. He would read something he had just acquired either at work or bought from a street vendor trying to capitalize on the natural events.

Father was always a sucker for a good book.

We passed many hours in our makeshift home listening to father read books, and newspaper articles either he or a colleague

Father believed it was never a good idea to make decisions based on the fear of what may or may not happen. He believed that it was more important to live in the moment and hope in the future.

So father and mum made their plans for a new life by the Creek in San Mateo.

Mum would tell me that many nights in the relief house father and she would dream of life in their new home next to the creek with little AJ. This became my nickname for the better part of my 107 years on earth. My parents dreamed of what it would be like to hear my first words, see me take my first steps, and all the things that parents dream of with their first child. These nightly sessions kept hope alive in both of them, mum would say.

Father began a quest to try to find a caretaker for mum who would be able to cook and clean and help with my care while he was at work during the day. He wanted to be sure whomever he hired would hopefully be able to grow with the family and stay for years. That was his hope.

There was this young black woman who would come to our camp with her two little children and ask if anyone needed something sewn or repaired. She had been a garment worker in the

While they walked down Market Street toward the park, my father shared the encounter he had with Andrew Joseph the day of the quake. Father was sure to share every detail with Emma so she would know how concerned Andrew had been about his family’s well-being.

When my father finished, the four of them walked in silence until they arrived home to meet our family for the first time.

Emma was stunned to discover that my parents had named me after her deceased husband. She expressed a sense of honor and immediately gave her a sense of connection to me and our family.

So began a lifelong relationship between the Clarkes and the Josephs. We would become one family as the years passed. Josh an older brother to me and Ruth was like my twin.

That evening mum and Emma talked of what it would be like once the home in San Mateo was complete. Mum shared how important it was to read to me each day. Emma shared how honored she would be to help raise me and care for our family’s domestic