Mrs Braun…as the Drake kids knew her(our parents always said show respect never first names) she was the head of the Braun Boys & the most fun! A great laugh, always happy, & a wonderful Mom on the Maikai Street. She was always there for us as kids as one of the Maikai Moms, every celebration she was always there laughing & playing right along side us. Thank you for being in our lives & making wonderful memories. We love you Mrs Braun ..The Drakes

Incredible Hulk?

My brothers and I, as sweet as we now are, were not always so well behaved around my mom. As kids, If we ever got in trouble with my mom and we knew she was about to impose some physical discipline on us, our “go to” escape plan was to run to our room, climb onto the bottom bunk of the bunk beds we had, and roll all the way to the back of the wall. Since my mom by this time was not as agile as she once was, she was unable to reach us. Of course, there is nothing funny about this story until it is re-told many years later at my brother Jeff’s house, when my brother Greg, my children, Jacob and Elsa (who love hearing stories about my childhood), my wife, Rayanne, and Greg’s wife, Diane, were also present. So, as we were playing a board game (I think it was 7 Wonders) and reminiscing about our childhood with mom, the discussion turned to our “go to” escape plan when we got in trouble with mom. Jeff commented about how mom used to pull the bunk bed away from the wall in order to get us. Greg and I immediately started laughing, since not only did that not happen, but my mom was in no shape to be pulling a bed away from the wall, let alone bunk beds. After some back and forth from me, Greg and Jeff, and much laughter from everyone sitting at the table, I decided to call Brett to get his recollection of the bunk bed issue. I was able to immediately get ahold of Brett and put him on speakerphone for all to hear. I asked Brett about the bunk bed escape plan and whether mom ever pulled the bunk beds away from the wall to get us when we ran away from her. Brett started laughing and emphatically stated, “No, she never pulled the bunk bed away from the wall”. So, 3 of the 4 brothers confirm the following: while mom may have had superhuman strength in other endeavors (such as climbing a near infinite number of steps to reach her house in Silverado Canyon), pulling the bunk beds from the wall so she could get ahold of us and spank us was not one of them.

2 XL – The Christmas Gift

As Christmas approached when I was around 11 years old, I became enamored with the newest technological toy to hit the market, a talking robot known  as 2-XL. You would insert 8 track tapes into the robot, who would proceed to ask questions based on the subject matter of the tape, and the excited child would get to push 1 of 4 buttons to select an answer to the question. Or, in my case, all 4  buttons (but not at the same time). It was the 1978 version of a cross between a talking encyclopedia and trivial pursuit, including recordings of actual events, such as the first lunar landing. I knew that my mom did not have a lot of money and worked very hard to provide for us kids, so I had no real expectation that I would receive 2-XL for Christmas. But, to my great surprise, when I unwrapped my Christmas gifts that year at my mom’s house, there it was, 2-XL. I have 2-XL to this day, along with the tapes that my mom purchased for me, and while not the most expensive gift I have ever received, it is one of the most cherished gifts I have ever received. I know that my mom must have made many sacrifices in order to buy 2-XL for me. She also, no doubt, worked extra hours in order to be able to afford it. Over the years my mom taught me that it isn’t the value of the gifts we provide, but the thoughtfulness with which we provide the gifts. My mom was not materially wealthy, but what she lacked in money she more than made up for with her love, kindness, gentleness, compassion, thoughtfulness, giving of her time, and care for me and my brothers, as well as others. This is the mom we had.

Mom and Frank spending Christmas Eve at Jacob's house. This was the Christmas we tossed the Yard Ball back and forth between me, Elsa, Jacob, my mom, Rayanne and Ricardo.

Mom hands Henry back to Elsa after she catches him trying to drive away with her car from Bakersfield.

Frank and Mom see each other for the first time after my mom had been in the hospital for about a month. Green and Pink sock monkey are just quietly observing.

Craig, Mom and Green Sock Monkey at the Hospital.

Grandma Judy with Megan at her first Birthday.

Judy, Meet Your Newest Great Grandson

While my mom was most recently in the hospital, Elsa wanted to make sure to visit her, as well as give my mom the opportunity to meet her newest great grandson, Evan. So, Elsa and Evan made a trip to the hospital to see my mom. While visiting with my mom, Elsa was told by the nurse that babies were not allowed on the floor. So, Evan took turns being watched downstairs by Jacob (who also came to visit my om) and Elsa while the person not watching Evan was visiting with my mom. However, before leaving the hospital and heading home, Elsa made sure to bring Evan up to my mom’s room once again to make sure to say, “Goodbye” to my mom. I even got some pictures with both my mom and Evan sleeping while touching heads.

Sock Monkey

Many people have seen my mom with one or more sock monkeys. So, here’s the story behind the sock monkeys. Many years ago, my mom went to the hospital for a diagnostic procedure on her heart. Knowing that my mom was very anxious and probably very scared, I went to the hospital so I could be with her both before and after the procedure. I brought with me a pink sock monkey, since my Sunday School kids loved all of my various sock monkeys (pink, blue, green, brown, pilgrim, penguin, snowman, pocketsize and 6 feet tall) and I knew it would be a comfort to my mom. So, when my mom ended up in the hospital this last time, I brought her a companion sock monkey (a brown one) until I could gather up the pink sock monkey from her apartment. And the pink sock monkey eventually joined my mom and the other sock monkey at the hospital. In order to make full disclosure, I may have used the sock monkey appendages to ever so gently show my mom who was the boss if you know what I mean.

“No Mom, You Can’t Come to the Hospital”

So, during my 2nd neck surgery, my mom decided to show her support by coming to the hospital to be with me. Oh, she was with me, just not by my bed. Rather, she ended up in the emergency room with a urinary tract infection, forcing Rayanne to run back and forth between me and my mom. After that incident, I banned my mom from ever …. ever coming to the hospital with or for me again.

The Sound of Music

When Jacob was a senior in high school and Elsa was a sophomore in high school, Bakersfield Christian High School’s theater department performed “The Sound of Music.” Elsa was cast in the role of Mother Abbas and Jacob was cast as one of the NAZI soldiers, both dancing on stage and flawlessly performing his only speaking part, “Ulrich, block the driveway!” Since my mom sang in the choir at the Crystal Cathedral for many years, it was especially enjoyable having her be able to come up to Bakersfield to listen to her granddaughter sing “Climb Every Mountain”, as well as watch her grandkids perform in the play.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

One of my favorite movies is one that my mom encouraged me to watch with her. It took some coaxing on her part, since what teenage boy wants to watch a movie on TV called “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”? But I loved the movie and enjoyed it all the more since it was a movie that my mom told me I would like, (and I did) and, after having kids of my own, I was able to watch it with them.

Squirm

My mom and I used to love watching movies together, at the theater, drive-in, and at home. One of the movies we watched at home, along with my best friend Sean Drake, was “Squirm”. If you haven’t seen “Squirm”, there’s no need for you to see it, since here’s the plot summary: An electric pole falls to the ground, electricity sparking on the ground makes a bunch of worms crazy and blood thirsty, and the worms go on a rampage. Why would my mom ever let Sean and me watch such a scary movie like that? Because she was always interested in what me and my friends were doing and loved to be a part of our lives, including while we watched stupid, scary shows. She especially loved it when Sean and I kept chanting, “Squirm Face” over and over. Or maybe it really irritated her.

The Tattle Tale Mom

This one is a little embarrassing. So, I will just swap me out of the story and insert some random person who I shall call “Raul”. Anyway, when Raul, no relation to my brother Brett whatsoever even though Greg, Jeff and I think he looks just like him, was about 7 years old, he made himself a bologna and sugar sandwich on squishy white bread. Yes, Raul had some very funny tastes as a child. Anyway, after the sandwich was made Raul headed down Mai Kai drive (the street on which our house in Huntington Beach was located) for a stroll. After getting about 4 houses away, Raul decided that he really needed to go to the bathroom and what better place to go to the bathroom than the gutter in front of someone else’s house. Well, that plan rapidly fell apart when the mother of one of Raul’s friends came out of the house to scold him. I believe the mother’s name was Jackie Newman (this name was not changed to protect the innocent). By the time Raul got home, the neighbor had already called his mom (Judy) who, in turn, called Raul’s dad. What for you ask? So that dad could come down to the house in Huntington Beach and spank Raul, of course. After all, Raul’s mom wanted to keep her hands clean of the punishment heading Raul’s way. And the best part of the story isn’t that Raul never peed in the gutter again, which he hasn’t, but that after getting spanked, his dad sent him to his car to bring in a new fish tank that he had brought down for the house in Huntington Beach. Did anyone ask for a fish tank? No. But, Raul didn’t ask to get spanked either. What happened to the fish, you ask? Well,  I’m pretty sure those fish died within a month.

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Judith Dean Dessel

30 avril 1943 – 5 juillet 2024

Fairhaven Memorial Park & Mortuary

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