Between The Miles - A Daughter's Perspective

The Family

     I get overwhelmed writing about the extended family of both my mother and father, so for this book, I'll focus on the nuclear family I grew up with; parents, grandparents, and siblings. The members of the Miles family are interesting individually, and I could probably give several of them dedicated chapters in this book. For example, my grandfather was on the USS New Orleans that was docked in Pearl Harbor for engine repair on the day the Japanese planes began bombing Hawaii. The cranes that were positioned over his ship were credited for keeping the airplanes from being able to bomb him that day. I told you, that story could be a whole chapter. Another example of a chapter-worthy family member is my grandmother who never learned to drive, though she often told my grandfather how he was doing it wrong! If any one of us thought for very long, I'd bet each member of our family would make an interesting read, but I think the best stories always start with a leading lady and my father has the best one! 

     Mercedes de los Angeles Duran-Miles (more commonly known as, Angie) is my mother, and my parents have been married for over forty-eight years. She is a captivating woman from El Salvador with petite curves and amazing posture, who doesn't just light up a room, she brings the light. I think the first thing you'd notice about my mother is her radiant smile because she's a person who smiles from deep within herself. Her face beams, her eyes sparkle, and her body buzzes with energy. 

     My mother has naturally super-curly hair that she spends a lot of time taming into luscious waves of black silk. Her skin is a rich mocha-brown that incidentally, my father loves to touch. "She's so soft. My skin loves her skin," he's told me more than once. 

     Angie was born in San Vicente, El Salvador in 1953, the youngest of five children (three older boys and two younger girls). Her parents were living separately during most of their marriage and the three boys lived with their father and aunts in the capital city of San Salvador, while the two girls were raised by their mother in the smaller country town. I know very little of my grandparents' history together as a married couple, and back in my mother's childhood, people didn't talk about those things, especially when a Catholic married couple was separated.

     Many would say my mother grew up dirt-poor, and it's true in her case, but I think it's also a matter of perspective. Their humble home had only two rooms with hanging light bulbs and no interior bathroom, yet my mother is full of joy when she tells stories of her childhood and being raised by her mother. No matter how little they had, I was told that my grandmother would share what she could when anyone came to her door in need. My Abuela supported herself and her daughters by making and selling THE BEST tortillas to the town, right from the front steps of her home. My mom said in the mornings, people in and around the town would send their maids to wait in line to buy the fresh tortillas that my Abuela made. From her earliest years, my mother learned and mastered the feel of masa between her palms. She knows the exact balance of masa-to-water to achieve the ideal thickness and ensure that each tortilla puffs up perfectly when cooked. My Abuela and her two daughters might have had very little money, but they were happy, and so very rich in love for each other. 

     At fourteen years old in 1968, my mother was granted a resident visa to live in the United States with her eldest brother, Gilbert, and his wife, Gladys, to go to school. She went to and graduated from Eagle Rock High School. It was originally thought that my mother would complete higher education in the United States and then be able to return to El Salvador and get a good job, to help make a better life for her family there. Tragically, within two years of my mother being in the United States, my Abuela died in El Salvador from diabetic complications. My mother had never known about diabetes and my Abuela never mentioned it. My mother's sister-in-law, Gladys, became a second mother and to this day, my mother remains devoted to Gilbert and Gladys for giving her a future here in the U.S.