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Ling never had any of the normal childhood diseases that the rest of us had. Whenever signs of a cold or other discomfort surfaced, An Lei would snip a piece of this herb and that herb until she was satisfied with the right combination to treat the symptoms.
    When Su Ling had fallen ill with a high fever, An Lei had exhausted her use of herbs, and every other old country remedy she could think of, yet the fever did not break; her fatigue did not subside; and she continued to complain of soreness in her joints. When Judy and I came to the door, she was quite relieved to see us. She had forgotten that my father was a pediatrician. He had given Su Ling the shots that were required for her to attend school, but other than that one time, An Lei had only taken Su Ling to one doctor—her cousin in Chinatown. Her knowledge and use of herbs had proven suitable for the few minor ailments Su Ling had endured since she was born.
    While Su Ling was recuperating, we became regular visitors to their home, and An Lei welcomed us with open arms. She was pleased that Su Ling had such good friends, and we became good medicine for both of them. An Lei, who had relatively few acquaintances in the neighborhood, preferred to quietly read or write letters to relatives in China and San Francisco, when she wasn’t busy sewing or running errands.
    Su Ling’s recovery was slow but with spring just around the corner, each day brought noticeable improvement, and we could see that she felt more and more like her old self once she had returned to school.
    ***
    The newspapers reported that the War was turning in our favor and everyone prayed that our soldiers would soon be returning safely home.
    After school on Thursday, April 12, 1945, Judy, Jenny, Billy, and I were playing Monoply on Billy McAvoy’s front porch. It was almost 6:00 p.m., and as we were putting the game away about to go home for dinner, the music on the radio abruptly stopped with an announcement from The White House.
    “President Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage at 3:35 p.m. this afternoon in Warm Springs, Georgia, where he had been vacationing on his physician’s advice.”
    I would come to remember that day as the turning point that was soon followed by the end of the War in Europe less than a month later, and ultimately with Japan officially surrendering to the Allies aboard the USS Missouri in August. The War was finally over.
    For some, the War would be perceived as an end without an end. Tony Russo’s brother, Billy McAvoy’s father, and my uncle Walter would not be coming home. The last time I had seen my Uncle Walter was at my grandmother’s on Thanksgiving Day in 1941, just days before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
    The conclusion of World War II brought thousands of young servicemen back home to pick up their lives and start new families in new homes and new jobs. The GI Bill allocated loans for education and mortgages, and with energy never before experienced, American industry expanded to meet peacetime needs. Americans began buying goods not available during the war and this in turn created corporate expansion and jobs. Growth was everywhere, and before long the baby boom was underway. Many young couples moved to the suburbs where a multitude of track housing seemed to go up overnight. The homes were mostly detached and offered large yards where children and pets could play. With gasoline readily available, everyone seemed to be buying cars as fast as they rolled off the assembly lines. For the first time since the Great Depression, America’s growth was bursting at the seams.
    Most of our neighbors that moved were those living in the many apartments in our area, but most of those who lived in houses remained. While many moved to the Maryland and Virginia suburbs, there were a few who moved to other states across the country. Our friends, the Nelson sisters, moved to New Mexico, one of the newest states to achieve statehood. Their father had been stationed there