Well, we had to forget about the fishing and we started to worry. Our boat kept moving toward the shore until the anchor got tangled up with some poles from an old pier. It then stopped right there in a 45-degree position because of the strong current.

We couldn't do anything but wait, hoping someone from the boat station would miss us and come to get us. We were very happy when we saw a boat from the station, but he had to turn around because of the strong currents and tried a different way. He finally got close to us and cut off the anchor rope and attached it to a buoy so he could come back later for the anchor. He tied our boat to his and brought us back to the boat station. I was worried because Bertha couldn’t swim. Even if we were close to the shore, the waves were very strong. We considered ourselves very lucky.

It was in 1994 when I lost Bertha. I found myself very lonely. I was living with her for 52 wonderful years. Her doctors discovered she had diabetes. I did the most I could and helped her as much as I could but she developed complications.

After a year passed I was feeling very lonely in Orlando. I needed to work on some of my funeral contract, so I called the office at the cemetery to have it done. They sent a saleslady who happened to be Spanish-speaking and a very nice person. We sat by the kitchen table and she fixed all the paperwork for me. We talked for about an hour then she left. But a week after that she retumed, this time with another lady with a small child about two years old. This lady's name was Lilia. I was introduced to her by the saleslady. They stayed for awhile.

Lilia came back to visit me. She brought her son named Cesar and his wife Beatriz and I was introduced to them as well. From then on, I wasn’t feeling so lonely anymore. We became good friends. They accompanied me when I went to visit Bertha at the cemetery, and helped me in anything I needed and later introduced me to the rest of their families and friends.

In 1997 Cesar and his wife started talking to me, telling me that I should think about going to Long Island to live with one of my daughters. Well, I thought about what they suggested and I went to live with my youngest daughter, Hilda, and her family. But first I had to sell my house, which gave me more time to think. They helped me to get ready and when it was time to leave Orlando, they helped me get a cage for my dog, Beauty, and waited in the airport until the plane left.

When I arrived in New York, my daughter and my son-in-law, John, were waiting for me and my dog, Beauty. I returned to Orlando after a year to visit Cesar and family. I consider them family. I also had my younger brother [Hiram] in Florida, and my nephew Alfred and his family, who I visited as well.

When Bertha was alive we went for walks around the block almost every day. We had the family and friends living all around us so we all took turns getting together in our houses. We played bingo...for pennies to make it more interesting. We passed the time and enjoyed ourselves very much.

As the years passed by, I started to lose my family. My father, Francisco, passed away in New York first. My mother Lolita died while she was living in Orlando with us. My sister Esther, my oldest brother Ralph and my sister, Delia. So only my younger brother, Hiram and I are left in the family. I always keep in touch with my friends and families by phone and if I am in good health, I will continue going to Florida to visit them.

I always try to keep myself busy by watching some sports, like baseball and sometimes boxing, and I also enjoy watching billiards. My son-in-law built a fish pond in the backyard of the house where he has some Japanese Kois. Some of them are very big and have beautiful colors. He also has a smaller pond where he keeps his goldfish. When the weather is good I sit on the bench and stay watching them for some time. There is an inlet which is a few minutes walk and also a park for the children.