For most of our time back in the States between international tours, we did what we did during our 30 years on the road in the U.S.: we zipped from place to place, rarely spending more than a couple of days in one location. One exception was Fresno, where we holed up for a couple of weeks. Not because we’re particularly fond of Fresno, but because it was a chance to do some catching up with Kimberly’s Aunt Linda, and her daughter Lori.

Situated in an area known for its grape production, Fresno is a city of about half a million, about half of whom are Hispanic (one of the highest concentrations in the nation). It’s also home to a large Armenian population. Among them was celebrated author William Saroyan, the foremost literary chronicler of Fresno life, who was born here and died here. In between, he won a Pulitzer Prize for his play The Time Of Your Life and an Oscar for his story The Human Comedy. He also co-wrote the song “Come On-a My House”, which became a big hit (thanks to Rosemary Clooney) with his cousin, Ross Bagdassarian — who gained fame under the pseudonym David Seville, creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks. It’s easy to imagine Saroyan tootling along on his bicycle –which he often did — on these streets you drive down.

On our first day there, we went bowling, as Lori had a bowling date with some friends. Neither of us is a good bowler. In fact, we throw so many gutter balls that you’d think we were trying to get a hole-in-one rather than a strike. But every now and then, we try our hand at this frustrating sport anyway. After all, laughing at our own incompetence is part of the fun.

Lunch was at a commendable little Mediterranean restaurant that offered bowls of ingredients selected by the customer, so we each got to create our own unique dish.

A couple of days after our arrival came an occasion that sneaked up on us, but there it was: the second anniversary of the passing of Kimberly’s birth mother (Aunt Linda’s sister). Kimberly had been with her in the hospital when she took her last breath. Sitting on the patio, we built a fire and raised a toast to the memory of Mama Jeanne, gone from our lives entirely too soon.

The next day, we ran some errands, including dropping by the Fresno Library to pick up some craft activities for Lori –which we had fun putting together at the kitchen table.

Linda and Lori live in a rural area on the outskirts of Fresno, where you can sometimes catch a glimpse of a fox in the yard — as well as a variety of birds to entice Kimberly the shutterbug. And spring was beginning to bust out in a carnival of color. The neighbors have a little farm where they raise goats, and we were able to feed them a few times. One young man who lived there with relatives was, we learned, from Guatemala — one of the countries we’d recently visited and loved.

Also on the schedule for this week was the first meeting, at Fresno State University, of Lori’s bocce team. It was coached by a woman who carried her baby in a pouch on her belly, showing the kangaroos how it’s done.

Maybe one of these days, we’ll give bocce a try ourselves. Just as soon as we get bowling thoroughly mastered.

3/11-18/2023