I was raised by a mother who was an idealist. She turned away from her Midwestern upbringing and moved to California with my father the day after they were married in a traditional wedding at the Francis & First Street Methodist Church near downtown St. Joseph, Missouri. California was a culture shock for both of them, but in different ways. My father was appalled at the aberrant behavior of the people he encountered. My mother was enchanted by the freedom for women to smoke cigarettes in … [Read more...]