The Year 1933

From the year 1933 to 2013, eighty years has passed, and my mother is celebrating everyday of them. She was born in Puerto Rico in September 29th of 1933. I wrote about 1958, the year she brought me into this world. As a gift, I wanted to search what was happening as she opened her eyes in this life.

My mother is a blessed woman; she is really amazing at giving love. There is nobody that can come with a negative expression about her. She has been a model of a virtuous woman.

Her life started with the death of her father three months before my grandmother set her free from her womb. The interesting part is that she has been talking about her father like if he raised her all her 80 years of existence. She loves him so deeply that it blows my mind how she can even love the unknown. Now, can you just imagine her virtuousness to love?

This is why I wanted to search, beyond other facts, what in history sent messages to her through my grandmother's womb?

The year of 1933 started on Sunday. Puerto Rico was hardly recovering from the damages left from the San Cyprian Hurricane of September 26 of 1932. This severe hurricane struck the island after just beginning the recovery from the 1928 storm. This hurricane affected 49 municipalities in Puerto Rico causing:

• damages to roads, power lines, and structures in general
• around 257 people killed
• 4,280 injured (death from these injuries is unknown)
• Thousands of homeless

The floods that came after the hurricane damaged or destroyed the citrus, sugar, coffee, tobacco, and honey harvest. My grandmother was little and tough; she used to prepare carbons (cooking coals) and sell them to survive.

Added to all this, the year of 1933 started during a time the world-wide depression had far-reaching effects upon agriculture, banking and government finance, and especially upon the condition of the laboring classes.

1933 was the year that Francis E. Riggs, U.S. Army Colonel, arrived in Puerto Rico with the appointment of Chief of the Police of Puerto Rico. He then militarized the police with: guns, carbines, rifles, machine guns and tear gas beyond other weapons. Puerto Ricans used to defend themselves with machetes, if necessary, which was a work instrument.

People these days change moods so quickly. We can see that many do not have the ability, or patience to live under pressure. We are living in a generation of roller coasters. Everything is taken for granted. Fields are problems, housework is a problem...daily tasks are like a condemnation instead of blessings.

Days are coming where finance, social crimes, and all sort of hard times approach with minds that are not like those of times when my mother grew up. I loved to listen to their stories (and my dad's RIP), believe me I don't think that many would survive what they did.

No Internet, no malls, no electricity, no cell phones; and they were all so happy living each day's problems. They confronted them with their own abilities. That is why jobs, home tasks, children, and marriages were real commitments. Their purpose was to be together in the struggle and keep up firm.

With all the problems they grew with, in these days they would have to sit with a psychiatrist, or drink pills because of "Oh, poor me".

There was a time when my dad had to drink alcohol to forget his sadness, but he overcame that. My mother was a worker since very young; both moved to the USA to get better job opportunities to help their mother raise their brothers and sisters, since both were the first born.

I deeply admire them! This is why I just cannot understand from where they became so spiritually and emotionally strong with all the hard times; socially and economically talking.

They had love is what my common sense tells me. Love is the force that can break any barrier. People that really love are different from those that hate. People that love have doors open that are closed by those that live in anger. People that love are those that know that God is their strength and live by it, like my father and my mother knew and lived by it.

"People that love have sense of good humor in tough times also."

Several events took place in January of 1933, but one of the most interesting facts was the beginning of the construction in San Francisco Bay of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Adolf Hitler (Nazi leader) was delegated Chancellor of Germany by Paul Von Hindenburg, who was the president of Germany.

The world was crazy in 1933. I bet everybody was desperate thinking it was the end of life. Good events were taking place at the same time hatred was being felt, and rebellious actions.

• Manifestations in London against strike
• Strikes in Spain against a law
• In Miami (USA.) an assassination attempt failed against President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
• At the end of the month was set on fire in Berlin, the Reichstag, which was Germany's parliament building, in response to controversies.

While wars were around the planet, the debut of the original film of 'King Kong' was being enjoyed.

Two earthquakes in different days of March were felt killing approximately 3,000 people in Japan and then in California 117 people were killed.

Adolf Hitler became dictator of Germany and opened the doors of World War II by his prejudice and criminal laws against the Jewish people.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an executive order requiring that in less than a month everybody in possession of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates to turn them in to any federal reserve bank.

1933 is so close to the activities, events, circumstances and agendas of 2013. The "funny" part here is the eighty years later doesn't make difference with technology, history, modernization, and all the philosophies, literature, etc. Don't you think eighty years are more than sufficient to make a difference?

Adolf Hitler replaced The Trade Union offices with the German Labor Front. He confiscated their money and imprisoned the leaders. He also took away the right to strike.

Mohandas Gandhi, the leader known as Father of India, began a 21 day fast in protest against British oppression in India.

In Eastchester, NY, the first police radio system was operated.

Loch Ness Monster is 1st reportedly sighted by John Mackay.

Walt Disney released the "Three Little Pigs".

The first drive-in theater was opened in the U.S.A. The movie presented in Camden, New Jersey was a British comedy titled 'Wives Beware".

Spanish president Zamora takes power.

Nazi-organizations were banned by Austrian government Dollfuss.

The German Nazi Regimen declares that married woman shouldn't work, and began mandatory sterilization of those with hereditary illness.

Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane by the 18th was encountered 900 miles East of Puerto Rico as a tropical storm. This was the eighth storm and the third hurricane of the busy hurricane season of 1933 that would ultimately cause great devastation in the Mid-Atlantic.

• Miguelina (Lina) O'Farrill Calderón was born on September 29th of 1933.
• The cartoon character by Von Beuren, "Little King" had its debut.
• Sidney Kingsley's "Men in White," became the forefather to all modern medical dramas.

My father met my mother being a tap dancer; she was on her way to become an actress, but love made her give a u-turn. The fact is that as the world was in war and depression by so much negativism, entertainment never failed. I wonder if that message was sent to her womb, because in the midst of worries her smile is found.

First great dust storm known as "Great Black Blizzard". It destroyed acres of farmland stretching from the Texas Panhandle all through the Great Plains and clear to the Canadian border.

The first proven case of air sabotage in commercial airline history was the Boeing 247 operated by United Air Lines and registered as NC13304. This airplane landed in Cleveland and as it headed to its next stop in Chicago, it exploded.

In the year 1933 by the month of December my mother was only three months of being in the world. Alcohol prohibition ended with the 21st Amendment to the Constitution of USA and Fred Astaire made his first movie. 1933 was a year with hunger, wars, laws, train crashes, storms, airplanes explosions, death to survivors.

Survivors of a generation of people that:

• stood up against every harm to their spirit, soul and flesh.
• knew that losing means beginning.
• knew that chickens give eggs and a seed will give crops.
• knew that to have you must seek.
• knew that to eat you need to sweat
• had wisdom to discern that in order to have you need to gain.

Perhaps it is easy to say it rather than making it come true. Forget your age is to start living wisely, having history...as a guide to not fall into passed cracks. Better than a loser is a person that tries even if they fail. My mother is still up with her eighty years, and it was not easy, but her smile nothing... nobody has erased it. She is a human, a woman with life and she wants to live every single day in joy, peace and loving.

I think we can try to put aside the stupidities happening, pass the page, forgive and start living with gratefulness and true love.

Blessings to all especially to my mom Numbers 6:24-26:

"The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace."

© Maria Magdalena Ruiz O'Farrill