Championship Christmas decorating

The Downey Patriot listed the winners of Downey’s 2016 Holiday Home Decorating Contest here. This is one of the winners. It is located at 7614 Yankey Street. I enjoyed the layout of the nativity scene in front. It has Bible verses for the wise men, shepherds, and the baby's birth on placards. I encourage you to check out the Patriot's website to get the map of all this year's winners.



The decoration even comes complete with house guards and an invitation to join them at Christmas services.

Humans of Downey - Ramon

"My very first car that I owned was a 1955 Dodge. I was 18 years old and I really needed a car to get me to my job as a dishwasher in Lakewood. I had just arrived in this country and I was walking from Compton to Lakewood for my job. But I found the route a little dangerous when walking, so I decided to get a car. So, I saved some of my wages little by little. One of my uncles told me about a lady that was selling her car. It was stored in her garage. It only had 45,000 miles on it and I bought it for $500. I liked the style, it was clean and it ran very smooth, like a clock. I also used it to take my girlfriend out on dates. Although, she wanted me to get a '55 Chevy. But I still married her and we've been married 57 years.

"A family that we were friends with were having a party that I attended. Their neighbors, who had just come back from Tijuana, Mexico, were also at the party. They had gone to Tijuana to pick up a young lady they were hiring to be a nanny for their son. She had just come up from Guadalajara. When I saw 'my wife' come walking up the driveway, I had a feeling, 'This is going to be my wife.' So, I talked with the neighbors and arranged to take her out on a date. Then more dates and after two years, we got married."
~ Ramon

P.S. Ramon is standing next to his classic '60s Lincoln Towncar which he uncovered for me to look at the interior. It has only 36,000 miles.

Christmas time at the happiest place on earth

It's nice to live in Downey and to be so close to the happiest place on earth. The park was decked out for Christmas with lights everywhere. I especially liked the ones on Sleeping Beauty's castle. It made it seem even more magical (if that is possible).

And, of course, tired as we were, we had to stay for the fireworks.

"I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing — that it was all started by a mouse." 
~ Walt Disney

Victory lap

Politicians love a parade, especially after a long and complicated election year. Returning Assembly Member Cristina Garcia, newly elected City Council Members Blanca Pacheo and Rick Rodriguez, and the perennially campaigning cow from Chick-Fil-A were just some of those making an appearance in this year's Christmas Parade.

The princesses and their float

Today was time once again for the annual Downey Christmas Parade. The parade, as always, includes the Miss Downey court. These are the 2016 winners, who will also ride on Downey's entry in the Rose Parade on New Year's Day.

From Miss Downey Emely Lopez down to the smallest Little Miss Downey Princesses, these girls are polished and ready—quite unlike the float they will ride on, which followed them in the parade. This year's entry, entitled The Gold Rush!, is just a skeleton of the finished product, and work will continue nearly around the clock for the next few weeks. Can't wait to see the finished product!

It's beginning to feel like Christmas

Tonight we enjoyed a couple of carols played by the Warren High Band. What a treat. We were having a gathering, so the music was enjoyed by many. They even recruited participation with the triangle!

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring
Is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.”
~ Meredith Willson, “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas”

Snow-capped

The rain last week gave us a brief glimpse of snow in the local San Gabriel Mountains. It's unusual to see so much snow there, and it didn't last long. But the clear skies, washed by the rain, provided an excellent view for me from the top of the public parking structure in downtown Downey.

Humans of Downey - Carol

"I fight for fairness. When I see that things are not fair, that triggers the anger in me and I do what I can to right the wrong. Last semester, the class I was teaching, Beginning Light Design, got canceled after the third class meeting. This was particularly unfair because we had 12 students, which is a reasonable amount. But Administration arbitrarily decided to make 16 the magic number to sustain a class. I had several students that needed this class to graduate this semester. It was a required class for their major. I made a big enough stink about this injustice that I'm not back teaching this semester. I got several people angry at me in the administration. The people that I think should be out, the ones that made the arbitrary decision regarding the minimum size of the class, are still there. I think that's unfair also.

"I remember when I was a little girl, my mom telling me, 'It will all get better before you get married. Just relax, it will get better.' But, the week before I got married was so stressful that I broke out in fever blisters. When I saw my mom that week I said, 'Mom, this is not going to get better before I get married.' Another thing my mom did just to save any argument was, if we had a question, like when we were driving and I would ask, 'Mom, what kind of tree is that?' she would make up an answer. So, there were tons of things I thought were gospel truth, but my mom didn't have a clue and was basically lying to us just to keep us quiet.

"I'm looking forward to several short trips I'll be taking this year. One is, my sisters and I will be visiting a cousin that we haven't seen in 40 years. We got back in touch with her after my mom died and we were cleaning things out. She is the daughter of my mom's brother and he died rather young at 48. This opened a can of worms. His wife had been an alcoholic as a result of being severely depressed. She had even had electro-shock therapy. While my cousin was young they had lived with our grandmother, but the stress was too much for my grandmother, she couldn't hack it any more, so they moved to Texas. Although my mom was in contact with them through Christmas cards and the like, there was always tentative feelings left regarding the struggle with my grandmother when they lived out here. It just wasn't a close relationship. But we had some things of my uncle's that we wanted to get back to them.

"I got in touch with her through Facebook and there have been several interchanges via email and stuff. Since then we have learned a lot about what was going on. Her mom finally has gotten some help and now we are going back there to meet her. She hasn't had a real stable life herself. She's been in a couple of marriages. Her daughter and her three grandchildren live with her so we won't be staying at the house. But we are anxious to see her. She asked us a while ago if any of us had any extra things that my grandmother had crocheted. My grandmother was quite the crocheter. I had the most so I sent her a box of stuff. And I may send one more thing. It's a bed-size white crocheted bedspread that I'm thinking of bringing to her when we go. I think she would appreciate it."
~ Carol

P.S. Carol was here in Downey for the first time visiting a friend. While here, she went to Downey Landing to Christmas shop. She went to Marshall's and Pier One. She was impressed with how friendly and gracious the staff were. Always greeting her with sincerity. It made her shopping more pleasant.