One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street (19 page)

They would look for those moments all of their lives. And they would find them.

The orange industry thrived in Southern California for many years, and oranges have been called the other California gold. The Washington Navel, referred to in my story as a “miracle” orange without seeds, did, indeed, supplant most of the Valencia variety. Other industries, as well as suburban development, diminished the orange industry itself, but every now and then you will come across a beautiful, bounteous old Valencia in someone's backyard, including my own.

My tree inspired this story, as I began to ponder how the past can inform and inspire the future, and how the precious moments of the present connect us with every living thing. I imagined an orange tree growing in an empty lot—a space “empty” of structures and residents, but filled with neighborhood children, animals, insects, and plants. The lot contains many layers of history, both literal and figurative, as
my character Ali discovers, digging in the dirt. I was moved to write two specific stories which represent two layers of that history, and also reflect achingly familiar modern issues.

Gertrude and Ethel are children growing up during the Great Depression, a worldwide depression of the 1930s during which many people suffered the hardships of unemployment and severe poverty. There was great economic disparity; Ethel's family is much more financially stable than Gertrude's. Gertrude and her parents are from Oklahoma, a region where many farms were devastated by dust storms and drought during that period. Thousands of families migrated west, looking for work picking crops in the huge, fertile agricultural fields of California. But wages were very low and conditions in the migrant camps often unbearable, as described in my story. Gertrude is left with distant relatives, and though deprived of affection, she is at least guaranteed regular meals and schooling.

In 1941, the United States entered World War II. Many warships were needed. Gertrude's parents are hired by a shipyard in Richmond, a city in Northern California, and Gertrude is happily reunited with them.

Young Larry's story takes place in 1967 during the Vietnam War, a complicated conflict between communist North
Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The United States supported its anti-communist ally South Vietnam, hoping to prevent totalitarian domination of all of Southeast Asia. It was a long and deadly war. American advisors were first sent to the region in the 1950s; the war ended in 1975 with the capture of Saigon in South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese army. More than 58,000 U.S. soldiers and millions of Vietnamese were killed in the conflict.

During the time in which my story is set, men were drafted into the army. (Women did not fill active combat roles in those days.) Because he has a family to support, Mr. Tilley is not drafted. He enlists on his own to serve his country.

My deepest thanks to Will Wardowski, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Citrus Studies, University of Florida, for his careful reading of my manuscript and for leading me to John McPhee's wonderful book
Oranges
. The PLGA and Sontag Foundations were invaluable for my understanding of cerebellar mutism, and Elizabeth Partridge's
Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange
allowed me to “see” Gertrude's world. To my editor, Maggie Lehrman, and my agent, Erin Murphy, thank you for your amazing guidance. And a huge thank-you to my family; you know what you did.

And Sophie Beglinger, in your swing, as well as your family, you have been an inspiration.

J
oanne
R
ocklin
is the critically acclaimed author of several books, including
Strudel Stories
, which was a
School Library Journal
Best Book of the Year and an
American Library Association
Notable Book, and
For Your Eyes Only
!, which was a
School Library Journal
Best Book and a Bank Street Best Book. She lives in Oakland, California.

This book was designed by Maria T. Middleton and art directed by Chad W. Beckerman. The text is set in 13-point FF Atma Serif, a modern typeface that incorporates transitional elements similar to those found in Baskerville. FF Atma Serif was designed by Alan Dague-Greene in 2001 for the FontFont type foundry.

The interior illustrations were drawn in pencil by Chris Buzelli.