Veterans Housing at UCLA. Our Unit was #17, 10866 Strathmore Drive

The GI Bill greatly increased the country’s intellectual capital exponentially. The Bill funded the educations of 22,000 dentists, 67,000 doctors, 91,000 scientists, 238,000 teachers, 240,000 accountants, and 450,000 engineers, as well as three Supreme Court justices, three presidents, a dozen senators, 14 Nobel Prize winners, and two dozen Pulitzer Prize Winners 

Congress estimated that for every dollar spent under the GI Bill, the economy got seven dollars back. Historians view the Act as one of the most important in the history of the United States . . .  for   sociologists, it was the dramatic democratization of our country.   My husband and I are examples.  His dad was a laundry-man and mine was a tailor, neither was educated.  Yet, with the GI  Bill my husband was returning to UCLA to study Physics.  We were both brought up on the neighborhood playground. Our career choices reflected our limited view of society.  I majored in Recreation to become a playground director and my husband Win majored in P.E. to become a basketball coach.

However, Win's dream of being a basketball coach was virtually closed . . .  there were no jobs, while the aerospace industry was begging for engineers. I was expecting and Win had to decide how to support us?  Win had almost three years of G.I. Bill funds coming to him and he decided to make a major career change.  Perhaps because he was going into the physics, the PE staff,  registrar, plus Veterans Administration facilitated the move.  Win took some summer refreshers classes of high school math and physics at UCLA to be ready for the fall of 1957.  

Although the G.I Bill under which he applied was closed shortly after, having applied prior its closing. we received all the benefits earned by the months having serviced in the Army, $129 a month.  Our apartment was $29. monthly.

In the fall 1957, Win was a returning graduate student in physical education (finishing his Masters) while taking undergraduate classes in physics. That raised a few eyebrows, among Physical Education and Physics professors.  Plus, quite a few of both family and friends, didn't think it was possible to get a Bachelor's degree in Physics in two years at UCLA.  However, Win did!!  Even though accomplishing this task within two years meant there were several classes which were meant to be sequential, which he had to take at the same time.   But our timing was perfect, the funds ran out the same month as the completion of his Masters in Physics.  

Another happy happenstance, me being pregnant meant we were able to move into Veterans Housing, right on campus.  I was due the end of October and was quite busy preparing our one-bedroom apartment.  Veterans Housing was a compound of older WW II wooden Army barracks.  There were 13 apartments in each unit. Utilities were provided, but you were  on your own for furniture.  The bedroom in the back was for the baby, and the room in the front had our bed, table/four chairs, and a bookshelf made of concrete blocks and wooden shelves. That competed our apartment.   

I had fun painting and getting our apartment ready.  We were on the second floor with windows along one wall.  I painted the floor a shiny black. the walls with opaque tones, one wall white, two walls turquoise, and the 4th wall a warm peach tone.  The simplicity of our furniture and the colors of the walls (and even the white bedspread), created what I wanted,  the feeling of space.   

Unknown to us, a rumor went out about our apartment.  I didn't know about the rumor, but just thought how friendly everyone was, thinking they were dropping by to introduce themselves. .  Until one of the ladies from another Unit, knocked on the door and peeked in.  "I just wanted to look."  I was a bit puzzled.  Then she explained why.  . .  It was being spread that our apartment in our Unit was bigger than any of the other apartments, and she wanted to see for herself.   I had to explain it was the same size, with Japanese simplicity, bare walls and minimal furniture.  

I did however unintentionally create a problem for my our neighbors in Unit 17.  Stripping old wallpaper off the wall, had scooted the resident cockroaches to other apartments. I had not actually seen the cockroaches, but removing the wallpaper, under which they were living,  chased them to the other apartments. The floor and walls were somewhat porous, odors, coughs and innocently, even cockroaches were shared. 

I was anxious to get everything clean and ready, and also complete my Masters before my due date.  I was allowed to change my Master's thesis project to a research project.  I defended it, wearing a smock. 

Win said it was like we were all hippies in the Veteran Housing Units, but highly educated, driven, with little money and lots of potential.  We had our resident doctor, psychologist, English professor, theater director, biologist, botanist, linguist, engineer, and other fields, as well.   With limited funds, we socialize with one another.  We made friends and had many very interesting experiences.   Our linguist was an American married to a beautiful Moroccan woman. whom he met while serving in in Morocco.  They spoke French, Spanish, and English between themselves.  They were far ahead of the current popular educational practice of speaking different languages to children at very early ages.  I was dubious and thought it would be confusing, but I didn't have my baby yet.     

Another interesting couple were from India. He was not a U.S. veteran.  Raj was on a government grant. Already a Ph.D. he was researching the desalination of ocean water with the use of different membranes.  Kamala, his dear wife, said we American women work too hard.  

When I went into labor, it was my neighbor, across the hall, who drove me to the UCLA Medical Center.  I remember waking up, and as I began to walk, water was running down my leg.  Win was gone, I knocked on my neighbor's door and simply said, "I think my water just broke; what happens next? "  Poor lady.   The look of pure panic was all over her face.  A mother of three, she had memories.  "We've got to take you to the hospital right now."  I could feel her arm trembling as she supported me.  As we walked to the car, she yelled to some of the ladies, "Mimi is in labor.  See if someone can get a hold of Win."   

There were no complications, and it was pretty close to a natural delivery, but unusual too:   Our son, Aury, was literally born holding a scalpel.   Two doctors were in attendance, all was calm, push, breath, when both started laughing slightly. I was puzzled.  What was happening?    Then I heard one of them say,  "Well this one is certainly going to be a doctor" and the other agree.  Though my feet were in the stir-ups, I wanted to see what was so amusing.  I was able to I raise my head to look.  

What I saw was Aury half-way out.  I could see his curly black hair,  shoulders and arms, and with . . .  a firm grip on the handle of a scalpel,  . . .  which he was waving it back and forth.  One of the doctors was supporting Aury's head and back while the other doctor was trying to pull the scalpel out of Aury's tight little fist.   Apparently what had happened, while exiting, Aury had grabbed the first thing his hand touched, which was the scalpel (for  episiotomies) from the doctor's shirt pocket.   The situation looked very dangerous to me. Gratefully, all ended well. The two doctors were able to wrestle the scalpel  out of his hand.  And, the prediction about him was fulfilled.  He is Aury Lor Holtzman, M.D. a Family Physician, currently practicing in San Diego.

Aury at 2 weeks old in our apartment. As an infant he was not a good sleeper, not during the day, nor at night. Everyone in the units had a suggestion. The UCLA doctors, during follow-up all  had suggestions.   I tried them all.  Aury was not being spoiled, as some suggested.  He cried, but did not want to be picked up.  He twisted and turned as if in pain.  Patting him seemed to be the only way to soothe him.   

Fortunately, when Aury was about 5 months old, my Mom brought my Grandma Petrita to visit.  Grandma lived in Sierra Madre and had given birth to 12 children, nine survived to adulthood.  Grandma watched Aury's fretful sleep and told me to bring her citrus leaves.  Greatly respecting her curandera skills, which I had observed before, I did not hesitate.

UCLA is in Westward Village, a very upper class area.  I was hopeful that I would find a citrus tree quickly and the  kind owner would let me gather some leaves from it.   I had not gone more than three or four blocks of  well landscaped, expensive single family homes, when I spotted a citrus tree.  I don't remember if it was lemon or orange, but I knocked on the door.  The lady was very sweet and did not hesitate to give me permission.  Gathering a bag full, I returned rapidly to the units.   Abuelita carefully washed  the leaves, then simmered them.   After about 10 minutes, she let the water cool down and gave Aury a bath in the warm citrus- infused water.  She dried and wrapped him tightly. A practice that I see very popular among young mothers in church.  Abuelita suggested I nurse him, and then we put him to bed. He slept straight for about eight hours.  The first time since we brought him home from the hospital. 

I think of this incident and my Grandma, when any discussion comes up about the power of folk medicine.  Her knowledge increased my respect for my culture.  The UCLA doctors had not been able to help Aury sleep, but my Mexican Grandma did. I remember well her teas, being treated with a poultice for pain, but especially remember the use of a paper newspaper funnel, as instant relief from an ear ache. The tip of funnel is inserted into the ear and lit at the top, releasing a gust of  very welcoming warm air .  It always worked. My Mom, Aurora, is holding Aury, her first of four grandchildren.  Grandma Petrita was filled with love for all her 20 grandchildren.

The cross-section of Veterans Housing residents expanded not only my multi-cultural understanding,  but also understanding "Americans" in all their diversity. Our new neighbors across the hall were both English majors, the Ephrams.  He was pursuing a PhD and she was pursuing a Masters.  They had one child.  They observed very quickly, that although I had two degrees, I had absolutely no background in American literature. I was an uncultured American!!   They very kindly filled my quiet times with select American novels.  Esther and I would discuss each book after I finished reading it.

It was after reading the very short novel, "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka, that Esther paid me quite a compliment . . . which is probably why after 60 years I still remembered the book title.  Esther asked me how many times I had read the novel.  Puzzled with the question, I said, "Once".  She looked very surprised and said, "You got more out of your one reading that I did . . .  reading it three times".  

That was quite a compliment and encouragement.  English had always been my worst subject, even up until today.  What I didn't realize then was that my written language was based on a firmly established Spanish syntax, embedded in my brain, apparently to stay.   Spanish was my first language, but like many Mexican-Americans, English had become my dominant speaking language.  However,  when it comes to writing, it was like mixed wiring in my brain.  

With Esther mentoring, I realized that my sometimes C grades in English, were not because I could not understand concepts, I just could not express them well in writing.  Esther opened the door to reading for enjoyment. 

She and her husband had their front room filled with bookcases.  I also bought a paperback, a Guide to American Literature.  With their support, books, and the guide, I probably covered the reading assignments for the first two years of any English Literature major.   "My Antonia" by Willa Cather and "Native Son" by Richard Wright come to mind as I write this.  I realize what I enjoyed in reading novels, was the insight gained about other cultural groups. Being brought up in Los Angeles, specifically Boyle Heights, I thought I had a good openness, acceptance and understanding.  Books were another window to the world.

Socializing was done at the Unit.  Win and me on the right  are both barefoot.  Life was casual.

Note the sandbox in the background and the fence surrounding it.  It was built by our Unit #17 fathers for the children to have a play area.   Family activities, such as the children's birthday parties included everyone.  A slide was included in the play area.

Aury, 16 months, always moving.

Following World War II, interest in hypnosis and the power of the mind was being expressed in various fields of study. Dr. Viktor Frankl a psychiatrist in his 1946 book, "Man's Search for Meaning"  chronicles his experiences as an Auschwitz concentration camp inmate during World War II.  Frankl was trying to understand why the same horrible experience made devils of some inmates and angels of others.    He describes his psychotherapeutic method, which involved identifying a purpose in life to feel positively about, and then "immersively" imagining that outcome.

There was growing interest in the potential of the mind, making an impact upon the public imagination. In our Veteran's Unit, we had graduates in varied fields, but all of us had a a great interest in hypnosis and the power of the mind. We were experimenting as a group. Those who were available would gather in an apartment.  One of the experiments was to see if the group could convey an image to a recipient.  Data was kept.  When it was my turn to be the receiver, I noticed that the room started getting quieter and quieter.  One of the ladies said, "She did it again." Someone said, "Shush."  I answered another card,  and there was more murmuring and stirring in the group.   I stopped and asked, "What is going on?".  It turned out, I was not reading the card that they were concentrating, but rather the next card that came up.  I had done it 12 times !!!

Most of our experiments were safe enough.  However, I remember an experiment which could have been tragic. The "Manchurian Candidate" is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959.  It stirred up quite a public reaction and interest in hypnosis when it was made into a movie.  It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a Communist conspiracy. Well-known was that the Russians were experimenting with thought communication.  The public interest in thought transference and hypnosis may have influenced some of the experiments devised by our Ph.D. Psychology candidate.

One afternoon, our Ph.D. candidate suggested a session which was again, group transference of thought.  He had previously hypnotized one of the ladies from the group. She was not there. At a specific time, the group was directed to concentrate on telling our target to go to sleep.  She may have been advised, that she was going to be the subject of an experiment, but beyond that I don't think any other directions were given to her. 

When she returned to the Unit, she told us what had  happened to her.  She said, she started falling asleep. She didn't know why.   She could not stay awake.  Her sleepiness started at the exact time that the group started concentrating on telling her to go to sleep.   She was not shopping, she was driving, and had to pull over and take a nap.  It could have been tragic. 

Aury was a year old and I got pregnant again, as planned to have our second baby at UCLA.  Since, we were living on campus, I got my pre-med care at the UCLA Medical Center.   A few of the doctors associated with the obstetrics department were involved with hypnosis and childbirth.  I was asked if I might be interested in participating in an experimental  project.  It involved coming to the center once a week, and listening to a tape.  It was actually self-hypnosis.  It seemed safe enough, in the hospital, with doctors.

Their were about six of us.  We would enter quietly, lie down on one of the cots.  The doctor would just as quietly come out from behind a screen and switch on a pre-recorded tape.  We did not speak to him, or to each others. The tape was a basic relaxation tape, with suggestions of what would happen when we went into labor.  The skill to relax your body was a gift which I used beyond labor.  However, self-hypnosis to assist in child birth could have been a tragedy.  

Win had left for classes when I went into labor.  The first thing, my body completely relaxed [conditioned reflex]
and a darkness started to encompass me, which during our sessions was a comforting darkness.  That was part of the learned sequence. 

However, I quickly reacted. This was not good.   I had Aury to take care of, and I had to get to the hospital.  I explained to Aury,  I was going to the hospital to get our new baby and he was going to stay with our next door neighbor  and friend, Esther.  The wife of a medical intern in our Unit Fumi drove me to the UCLA Hospital. 

The Center  immediately called my doctor, which I doubted would arrive in time for the delivery. Apparently, because I was part of the study, although there were women in labor on gurneys in the hallways, I was given a room.  

I was very comfortable physically while labor was underway.  Hearing the women screening throughout the Obstetrics Ward floor made me feel a little guilty, and sad for them. I was sitting up reading a magazine.  

However, the success of the self-hypnosis was working against me in another way. I started feeling that the baby was coming.   I kept telling the staff, it feels like the baby is coming, but the busy nurses did not pay attention because I wasn't screaming and complaining. 

An obvious nonbeliever-in-hypnosis doctor, stood outside my door and told the nurse loudly, for me to hear.  "Those darn doctors selling these poor girls on all that stupidity, when she starts yelling, you give her whatever she needs, an epidural, a spinal block, whatever."   

However since I wasn't wailing, the passing nurses did not respond to me at all.   Being my second, I knew the baby was coming. I was getting concerned, noone way paying attention to me.  I actually thought of getting down from the gurney so the baby wouldn't fall off.  But then I didn't think I could get off the gurney safely because it was so high off the ground.  Gratefully, just then, Win came in.   He grabbed a nurse that was going by and demanded that someone look at me.  Just to satisfy the husband, she did look and was surprised, I was already at nine.  "Scared, her response was immediate.  She yelled something and the staff  jumped in response.  The Head nurse came over and while they were rolling me into the operating room, she kept her her face almost touch my face.  She keep looking into my eyes saying, "Pant like puppy. Pant like a puppy. Through your mouth.  Through your mouth."  They rolled someone that was in the operating room and rolled me in. They barely got my legs into the stir-up before Tawn, our daughter made her appearance, breathing,  no slap on the rump was required, as with Aury.   

The attending doctor, laughing said out-loud, "Well this certainly was a natural delivery."  I looked over to the window viewing area, to see the Hypnosis Project doctor with a big smile.   He had just arrived, and was pleased with the report, no medicine of any kind had been used.   The reason for self-hypnosis as the format, rather than a dependency on a doctor, was exactly for situations like this.  This photo was taken is immediately after delivery.  Tawn has not been washed yet.  You can see the little drop of blood on her left cheek. Our timing was good, I delivered Aury one month after Win's first semester started and Tawn one month before Win last class was over.   In both cases, it was the support of friends in the Veterans Housing Unit which smoothed the way.  It was an exciting two years.

Aury was born in October, shortly after Win started school at UCLA.   Tawn was born almost 2 years later in June,  just before Win was graduated and we left for our next adventure.   Tawn was a month old when we moved to the desert of Richland, Washington.  Win's first job was as a Radiation Protection Monitor for General Electric, at the Hanford Atomic Energy Station.  He made it from P.E. teacher/coach to atomic energy monitor in two years. 


Abstract: A verbatim protocol for the "Hypnoreflexogenous" method of preparation for childbirth is presented wherein the patient is taught to enter a hypnotic state and then prepared for labor and delivery. The method provides a "conditioned reflex" effect conducive to a positive outcome for labor and delivery by enhancing the patient's sense of readiness and control. Previous applications of the method demonstrate patients have fewer complications, higher frequency of normal and full-term deliveries, and more positive postpartum adjustment. The benefit and ultimate cost effectiveness of the method are discussed.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/13418966_Childbirth_Preparation_through_Hypnosis_The_Hypnoreflexogenous_Protocol