My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

MY FAMILY’S NEW LIFE
After My Father’s Bankruptcy
Two weeks after my father declared bankruptcy in March 1951, he
left for Terceira Island in the Azores to seek work on the US Lages
Air Force Base. Three months later, I finished the school year, and
my mother, two sisters and I moved to join him. It was June of
1951.
We traveled on a small boat called the Santo Amaro to the city of
Angra do Heroismo, the capital of Terceira. From the city of
Ponta Delgada, it was roughly 105 miles, and the journey took
about eight hours. It was an agonizing trip. The weather was
terrible and the boat rocked so much that we thought we were
going to die. At the time, the only other option was a tiny fivepassenger
commuter plane that would depart from the island of
Sāo Miguel. But since we had no money, we were forced to travel
by boat.
When we arrived in Terceira, we docked at Porto das Pipas where
my father and his friends were waiting for us. They took us to a
house in the town of Santa Luzia which was not far from where the
boat landed. The accommodations my father had arranged for us
consisted of one room with a couple of mattresses on the floor.
There was no plumbing and no electricity, and my mother could
not stop crying. I was sixteen.
The next day, I went with my father to the base where he worked
as a cashier in the Officers Club. I went to the Civilian Personnel
Office to apply for a job - any job - so that I could help my family.
During the interview, the man at the desk asked me how old I was.
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