Cara's Design Selected

Cara's design was selected out of a group of 5 submission to be this year's logo and shirt design for the 29th Mt. Carmel Band Tournament. Shirts and pins are available. Please email me if you are interested in ordering one. Congratulations Cara!

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A Letter To My Granddaughters from Grandma Greiner

Letter to Granddaughter's (Jenna and Cara) Girl Scout Troop dated Jan 31, 2000:

Dear Girl Scout Troop #8234,

I am so pleased that Jenna & Cara gave me this opportunity to tell you girls about my life. I hope what I have to say will show you how times have changed.

On October 15th, 1932 (can you figure out how old I am, using your math skillss?) in Covina, California, I entered this world with a slap on my little bottom, crying just like all of you did. I was very lucky to have a loving Mother and Dad. In fact, my mother, Jenna & Cara's Great Grandmother, is now 91 years old and lives in Carlsbad, with my sister, Linda. Linda is my little sister and I have an older brother who lives in Connecticut.

When I was a little girl, I remember playing dolls, which I had a lot of, with my girl friends, who lived in my neightborhood. We would play for hours, dressing, feeding, and taking care of our "babies". I had a playhouse out in the back yard, which doubled as a club house as I got older. We would spend many hours skating and bicycling around the neighborhood. We didn't have a swimming pool in our yard, so we went to the public plunge, (that was the word used for a public pool) in the city park.

Mandy, you asked if we had television, the answer is no, (not until I was in High School) se we played lots of games, like Monopoly, jacks, cards, Chinese checkers, etc. and we listened to the radio a lot. We had a badminton court in our backyard, which we used quite often. It also doubled as a basketball and volleyball court. My first name is Barbara, but I like yours better. I am married to a great man named Hank. I have 4 children, Laura, Nancy, Danny & Diana, who are all married. I also have two step-daughters, Peg & Diane, who too are married. We now have 10 grandchildren with two new babies arriving in the near future.

Caitlin, your question was, did we have drive thrus? Well, we had drive-ins. You parked your car and a car-hop, some on skates, would take your order and bring it to you, and you would eat in your car. This was great for parents with young children. We didn't have Disneyl.andk, but we did have roller coasters. At the Los Angeles County Fair, the Santa Monica Pier and the Long Beach Pike. Our family used to go to the Pike quite often during the summer. We were able to ride the roller coaster, ferris wheel (a double), tilt-a-whirl, bumper cars, merry-go-round and many more rides.

Roxanne, yes, I played Red Rover, Red Rover, I dare you to come over. I really hadn't thought about that game for a long time. I do like to plant flowers, but I can onlyl plant a few as they have to be planted in pots, as I have no yard. I live in a townhouse with only a patio, but we are happy here.

Carly, sorry to disappoint you, but I wasn't around for the 1900 millenium. Yes, the cars were a little different, mainly they didn't have air conditioning, and most of them had a stick shift, which changes the gears. Some of them had radios, but no CD or cassette player. I can't remember what the price was for a pair of shoes, but I'm sure it was less than $10.00. As for clothes, fashion is always changing, they say if you keep your clothes long enough, they will come back into style. You might like to know that we had to wear dresses every day to school. No jeans, shorts, slacks, etc. l unless it was a special day like "Play Day," when we were allowed to wear different things. The only thing I can think of that I have now, that I had as a kid is a silver identification medallion that I had to wear around my neck, during World War II. Oh, I do have my bronzed baby shoes.

Alexandra, you wanted to know what we have now that we didn't have when I was little. Well, no TV, dishwashers, electric can openers, micro-wave ovens, freezers, CD's, audio cassettes, VCR's, computers, electric blankets, plus a lot more that would fill this page. I'm so happy to hear that you are learning to play the violin, music is one of the basics everyone should try and learn. I took piano lessons for five years, so my afternoons were always filled with at least one hour of practicing, before I could do anything else. I am happy that my folds gave me this wonderful opportunity. When I was growing up we had a little terrier, her name was "Dutchess." She was really a sweet dog. When I was raising my family we had a dog named "Prince," a few cats, and some goldfish. My favorite foods are cheeseburgers, french fries, steak, fried chicken and chocolate cake. I know these aren't the greatest fro my body, but they are OK in moderation.

Alex, you asked if I was ever a Girl Scout. Yes, I was a Girl Scout until I was in 9th grade. Every summer, I was able to go to Girl Scout Camp at Camp Arbolado in the San Bernardino Mountains. Boy, that was fun, riding horseback, swimming, sitting around the campfire, singing and all the other good things you get to do. In fact, I was a Girl Scout Leader for Jenna & Cara's mother when she was in Scouts. When I was 13 I was able to join Job's Daughters, which is affiliated with the Masons and Eastern Star, it is another organization for young girls.. I was Honored Queen when I was a senior in high school. This organization really helped enrich my life. Besides the ritual teachings we went on many day trips, like to Chinatown, in Los Angeles; seeing a radio show while broadcasting, ice skating, and taking a boat to Catalina Island for the day. One of my hobbies was collecting stamps, my brother got me started in collecting. I also collected Story Book Dolls and miniature glass dogs.

When I was four years old my parents gave me tap dancing and ballet lessons, that too was fun. In the eighth grade a group of parents got together and formed a ballroom dancing class for eight boys and eight girls. That is where I really learned to dance with boys.

We didn't have "middle school" like you have now. Wwe had K-6, elementary school. 7th & 8th was Jr. High. 9th-12th grade was high school. In Jr. High, we learned how to cook and to sew. I liked both of those classes. I still like to cook but I don't do much sewing anymore. I did sew a lot when I was raising my four children. I used to make a lot of costumes for them, as well as clothing. In high school, I took baton and tennis lessons. I was also a flag twirler in high school.

Sundays were usually spent going to Sunday school and church, then going to visit one of my grandmothers. One of my grandmothers lived in Pasadena, so on New Years, I was lucky that I got to go and spend the night with her and walk down to Colorado Blvd, a block away, and watch the Rose Parade. This was always a thrill.

Working was one of the pastimes that I endured during the time that I was married and raising a family. I worked as a waitress, bank teller and accounts payable supervisor for a large company. I am also a cancer survivor, I had breast cancer in 1993. So far everything is looking good and I'm doing great. I was able to retire Christmas Eve 1993. Since that time I have been playing golf three to four times a week. This is something that I really enjoy. I am on the Women's Golf Association Board and keep busy with my duties there. My husband and I like to take weekend golfing trips and spend our vacations golfing in other parts of the U.S., like Alabama, South Carolina and any place they will let us play. Luckily, at this time I have good health and go to the gym three times a week to keep in shape.

Girls, I hope I haven't rattled on too long, but I was so pleased that all of you wrote your own letters to me, that I hope I have answered all your questions to your satisfaction.

I have had a good life and wish each and every one of you a wonderful, healthy and happy future.

Barbara Greiner
Cara and Jenna's grandmother

MCHS Band Tournament 2005 Shirt Submission

HER DESIGN WAS SELECTED...ALL RIGHT, HOW MANY OF YOU WANT TO ORDER SHIRTS OR PINS?



Cara has submitted this design for consideration as this year's band tournament shirt. Good luck, Cara !

Labor Day Fun and Worry

Spectating, playing, tailgating, firewatching, laughing, fighting, grumbling, mumbling, scrapbooking, organizing, teasing, jabbing, moping...you name it we ran the gammut of emotions and activity these past few days. Larry was home from a two week stint in Ft. Lauderdale (tired and glad to be home). Cara and Jenna worked on homework. Laura was busy solving geneological puzzles. Larry made a few more scrapbook pages (aaahhhh, that Freshman year).

In between that we managed to attend the UCLA vs SDSU football game (UCLA won!). The picture of Cara (L) and Jenna (R) was taken there. It was great to hear both the SDSU marching band (13 tubas!) and UCLA's pep band perform.

We hit the miniature golf course on Sunday. Cara won our first round (3 hole in ones certainly helped her score) and Jenna took honors on the second round. Twenty-plus laps around the go kart track and we were off on other adventures.

Unfortunately, a fire erupted just east of the girl's high school (literally on the open brush field just by the stadium). Emergency Personel had evacuated approximately 200 homes near our neighborhood. We were never in any danger but the flames burned over 150 acres of our beautiful hillsides. Mt. Carmel HS was set up as an evacuation center. There are shots of the firefighters and air support on the link below.

Enjoy all of our pictures by clicking on the link below.

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Jenna & Whitney Breite

Jenna & Whitney Breite
Originally uploaded by Breite.

Check out all of our fun pictures from our recent day at Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim, CA.

Jenna, Whitney, Cara, Patrick and Laura had a great day!

To see all of the pictures in this set just click on the Photo button on the right hand column of this blog.

Tubas in the Living Room

PICT0092
Originally uploaded by Breite.

You haven't lived until you have had 10 tubas in your living room playing classical music....WOW! And it's only the beginning of the season!

Cara is acting Section Leader this year and is rising to the challenge. It will be an exciting season of tournaments and parades not to mention the Rose Parade and Holiday Bowl Exhibition

The Day That Changed America by Jenna Breite

Just came upon this school assignment Jenna did one year after 9/11/01, she was 13 years old and in 8th grade. I thought you might find it interesting.

The Day That Changed America

September 11, 2001, changed every American's life. If you don't think it changed your life--you're wrong! I know it has changed my view of the world. I see policemen, firemen and emergency medical personnel through different eyes than before 9/11. Americans are being more patriotic. More families are embracing their friends and neighbors. Our nation has changed and become more loving and understanding.

Ever since September 11th, Americans have had more respect for policemen, firefighters and emergency medical personnel. Our nation has realized that firefighters are willing to risk their very lives to save you or your loved ones. We know this because on September 11th they were the ones to rush into a building that was on fire, knowing that they might not come back alive. They went into the building anyway to help those they could.

There was one team of firefighters that were in World Trade Center Tower One when the second tower got hit and collapsed. The group was helping people out down a stairwell that was filled with debris from the first collapse. They moved the people to another stairwell and continued down. When they got to the other stairwell they heard their own building shudder and start to collapse. It only took eight seconds for World Trade Center Tower One to come down around them. The firefighters and the people they were helping were literally buried alive. It was black as night and they couldn't see. They had radios and were trying to call for help but were unsuccessful. They still didn't know exactly what had happened. They didn't know that Tower Two was down, that hundreds of fellow firefighters were missing or even if they would get out alive. They lay under the rubble, unable to move for fear of debris crushing them. They were in that condition for two to three hours before the chief saw a stream of light coming from a shaft above him. He managed to get up through the shaft and to the outside where he could radio for help. When help arrived they started to walk back over the fallen towers. Slowly, carefully, covering the area to safety, step by step over fire-hot debris. It took them three more hours to get to safety.

I personally feel a great deal of respect towards these brave men and the other firefighters. Those men got lucky. Who knows why they were saved when many firefighters didn't make it out along with many civilians. The emergency personnel must have been very busy with all of the people getting injured. They had to take care of many burn victims. People who had all of their clothes burned off of them, people with injured eyes because of the dust cloud, people with injuries because of falling debris; all needed care. They also had to deal with the many dead bodies that were recovered. Not only did they have to care for the injured they had to be on top of things and not break down under tremendous pressure. The New York police department helped by directing traffic and guiding people to safety. They helped many people out of the towers. As a result of the events of September 11th it became very apparent how much these brave people love their jobs and their country.

Americans have become more patriotic since September 11th. I have noticed that many people are hanging flags and putting things on their cars to show their national pride. We have united together more as a nation than in recent memory. People throughout the country raised flags and mounted flags on their cars. People started displaying the United States flag to show their pride of our nation and to show that they were not afraid to show their love for this great nation.

I know that ever since September 11th my mother has read everything she could about the events of 9/11. She says that it is because she wants to get a better understanding of what people experienced and how they responded to those events. It is also because she still can't believe that it happened. We have recently added a flag to our car also to show our pride and unity. As she shares information she has read, our family has learned more about other culltures and has a somewhat greater understanding of the tragic events of September 11th.

In fact, we went ot Ground Zero last Thanksgiving; just two months after the attack. When we got there it was very quiet and all you could hear was the workers moving large pieces of metal. The reactions of the people standing around us were sadness, shock and disbelief. A memorial wall was set up nearby for people who had died or who were missing. There were many candles, flowers, pictures of loved ones, notes, and banners from all around the world showing love and support for the people of New York and the United States.

Families throughout the country have come together and have a better understanding of each other. We have embraced our families and reached out more just to talk. When we are done talking we say "love you," more often. We do this because we realize that that could have been us on that plane or in those buildings. We were lucky that it wasn't.

We have also been nicer to our neightbors and friends. We understand that this didn't just affect us, it affected the whole nation. Even though you are only one person you can make a difference in someone's life simply by being kind. If you made that one person feel special, then maybe you will influence them to be kind to someone else. Families and relationships are stronger and as a result America has come together more as a nation.

We are now a more loving and understanding country. We, as a nation, are seeing how a tragic terrorist act can affect us, even when you are so far away. The world has gotten much smaller. We understand what the firefighters, police officers and emergency medical personnel had to go through. This nation won't let this affect our daily life. So, we hang our American flags high and hold our heads high and stay strong. We continue to live our lives in freedom and without fear. We have come together as a nation and our hearts go out to all the people who lost their lives as well as to their families on the day no one in America will forget, September 11, 2001.

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As I copied this into the blog I had many thoughts and emotions churned up. I sit here shaking my head at the state of affairs President Bush's administration has caused us to be in. I am filled with dismay about the victims of Hurricane Katrina and wonder why he hasn't made them a higher priority. I puzzle over his misguided and misleading information about the situation in Iraq. Never, in my lifetime, has my country been so divided with it's people hesitant to speak their hearts and minds. It is very patriotic and "American" to question our leadership. Not only is it patriotic, it is required as a citizen of this great country. For those who label citizens who ask questions "unpatriotic" I would say, "Where is your patriotism when you do not speak up at injustice and falsehoods?" But, I digress. Indeed, Jenna captured the spirit of the time just after September 11, 2001. Would that it was still that way. ~Laura Breite