September 1965 2611 D Street, in the rear. The tiny house in the rear. It was either a guest house or a servants quarters. A standalone bungalow set behind a larger old Victorian house with three rented flats and a broad porch as wide as the big house. Or the house in the front asContinue reading “How do we get things done when the door bell keeps ringing.”
Category Archives: autobiographical
If Judy Bloom wrote for pre-teen boys.
A close shave. I grew up in Southern California with clueless Okie parents. It was the dust bowl survivors meet Ozzie and Harriette. Misfits all of us. We had no social skills much less me remembering to not burp when in the cafeteria at lunch. I would have to admit myself an early teen boyContinue reading “If Judy Bloom wrote for pre-teen boys.”
It was the organ that made me skate.
The marvelous Wurlitzer organ. Some of the older and larger downtown movie theaters had a mighty Wurlitzer organ. Put into service back when movies were silent and needed some underlying musical theme to carry the action. The bigger and older ones were huge as they are today. About the size of a Volkswagen beetle. AContinue reading “It was the organ that made me skate.”
We drove to Sears once a year.
Before we could do Easter… The Saturday before Easter we all drove to Sears in East L A. The place was the main Sears catalogue store at Soto and Olympic. A tall ten-story building just east of the concrete L A River. After arriving and parking My two sisters would go with our mom andContinue reading “We drove to Sears once a year.”
Anybody want an eighty-pound bale of hay?
Bucking hay. Stepping off the back porch and just a few steps from the breakfast table I would be struck by a marvelous sight. At first glance you would think a giant yellowish and white fireball was coming up out of a volcano. No, a brilliant sunrise rose up into the clear blue skies overContinue reading “Anybody want an eighty-pound bale of hay?”
I do not want to end up deep in the ocean.
It was proclaimed to be the tallest wooden frame roller coaster west of the Mississippi. Had you driven south on Atlantic Boulevard back in the 1950s from East Los Angeles all the way to Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach you would have certainly notice the tall wooden structure known as the “Cyclone Racer.” RollerContinue reading “I do not want to end up deep in the ocean.”
Romance in the parts bins.
My first job. It was my first job after getting married. I started to work in the parts and service department at Sears Sacramento 1965. My new boss, Mr. Cole said it doesn’t pay much but come and get it. So, I started in September a few days after our honeymoon. Mr. Cole had alreadyContinue reading “Romance in the parts bins.”
Needed good walking shoes.
Yes, indeed I’m walking. Now I am not saying this to just solicit your well-deserved sympathy but from kindergarten and all the way up to my senior year in high school I walked to school. Almost every day. I walked approximately two miles each way. Walked to elementary, junior high, and high school. Our grandkidsContinue reading “Needed good walking shoes.”
Homeroom was not for the faint of heart.
Second period. At our junior high second period was always ‘Homeroom.’ Meaning we had an extra 30-minutes to discuss topics not related to the period’s curriculum. This was seventh grade 1956. The curriculum was metal shop. Our teacher was Mr. Leo Fanar. A tall balding man in his thirties and about six-foot two. He stoodContinue reading “Homeroom was not for the faint of heart.”
What does this have to do with my science class?
Ranching is not for me. Junior high L A County 1958. I had Mr. Macintyre’s eight grade science class fourth period just before lunch break. We were all just settling in at our desks when Mr. Byerman, a tall red hair and bespectacled no non-sense teacher with a public-address speaker like voice came to Mac’sContinue reading “What does this have to do with my science class?”
Chuck the Blogger Guy 