O America

A view from across the pond

Terry in Santa Monica, 1980

My love affair with America began when I was 15, although I was primed at a far, far younger age. At two or three years old, I used to sit in a box and make believe I was in a boat on my way to see my Auntie Pole.

Auntie Pole was, in fact, Aunty Pearl, my dad’s sister. She married an American GI stationed in England, and went b…