The Little Thread Which Grew - the Apollo '73 to Everything But

[EP - Ethics Particle]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Interesting, Rog, re the home turf!

I recall reading somewhere that "every man carries with him a picture of the territory he grew up in..." and I certainly have reality on that.

I would love to have a conversation with you about it!

Mike

 

[FoTi]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Interesting, Rog, re the home turf!

I recall reading somewhere that "every man carries with him a picture of the territory he grew up in..." and I certainly have reality on that.

I would love to have a conversation with you about it!

Mike

Yes....this is an interesting subject. I experienced a strange kind of disorienting shock when I looked at the area where I grew up (some 55 years later). The corner of Van Nuys Blvd and Ventura Blvd went from a cornfield to highrise buildings. Sherman Oaks was two blocks long when I was a kid.....now it's neon light city - nightclub alley. It was mind boggling to see the change. I didn't like it. And I have recently gone on Google and looked up the houses where I grew up. They have all been significantly altered by subsequent owners and are no longer recognizable as the houses that I lived in over 60 years ago. The only things that were recognizable were the addresses. It's fascinating and disturbing at the same time. Life seems to be changing so fast these days, it's hard to keep up with it.

Roger....I look forward to whatever info you plan to bring to the board. I'm sure it will all be interesting stuff.

 

[lkwdblds]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Yes....this is an interesting subject. I experienced a strange kind of disorienting shock when I looked at the area where I grew up (some 55 years later). The corner of Van Nuys Blvd and Ventura Blvd went from a cornfield to highrise buildings. Sherman Oaks was two blocks long when I was a kid.....now it's neon light city - nightclub alley. It was mind boggling to see the change. I didn't like it. And I have recently gone on Google and looked up the houses where I grew up. They have all been significantly altered by subsequent owners and are no longer recognizable as the houses that I lived in over 60 years ago. The only things that were recognizable were the addresses. It's fascinating and disturbing at the same time. Life seems to be changing so fast these days, it's hard to keep up with it.

Roger....I look forward to whatever info you plan to bring to the board. I'm sure it will all be interesting stuff.

SOME COMMENTS ON LOS ANGELES OF THE 1940'S and 1950's
Well, FoTi - Time marches on, we like to call it progress but many times people do not perceive it as such. I grew up in West Los Angeles and went to a couple of parties near the corner which you refer to above in the "Valley". I was 16 or 17, around 1956-57 and after the parties, we always drove to one of those 1950's type drive in restaurants where the waitresses were in cute cheerleader type outfits and rolled up to your car on roller skates. By the mid 1950's that area of the San Fernando Valley was already fairly built up. It was nowhere as dense and built up as it is today but still, there was plenty of "neon", very few vacant lots and lots of traffic.

I was sent a real gem of a DVD by my first cousins. Their Dad, who was my Uncle, was a camera buff and took 8 millimeter movies up on the roof and also out on the street in front of the Riveria Arms apartments, located on Coronado St. a few blocks South of Sunset Blvd. in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles. My cousins had the 8 millimeter film made into a DVD with swing music in the background. The movies were of me when I was around 6 months old, in 1940, and included my Grandma and Grandpa who owned the apartment building as well as my Parents and my Uncle, who was still living with my grandparents.

It is so weird to see videos with my parents so young, my Mom was only 25 and my Dad 27. My Uncle who took the pictures was only 21. Even my Grandparents were much younger than I am now, My Grandma was 57 and my Grandpa 58.

The Riviera Arms apartments are still there some 70 years later. In this case, that area of L.A. was already old in 1940 but to tell you the truth, it has virtually the same density of buildings and people as it did then. Also, the buildings look nearly exactly the same.

WHAT HAS CHANGED
The most major change is that the area is much more ethnically mixed. In the 1940 period, it was probably pretty much a "White" area with a strong Latino presence and a smaller Asian presence. Now, it is a cultural melting pot with all major races and nationalities present. As a result of that change, the eateries of the area are extremely diverse. They are mainly Mom and Pop type establishments from all parts of the world and most of them are quite good and reasonably priced. I will say that in areas such as this in the older part of Los Angeles, there appears to be zero racism present. The multi culturalism in a setting of that nature is a pleasure to behold. What race you are or what country your heritage is seems to be of virtually no importance to the people in the area.

The only other differences from 1940 to now is in the fashions of the day. The dress is different in the extreme as are the hair styles. Also, of course, the cars have totally changed in appearance and technical sophistication. Then there is the traffic flow. There was traffic in L.A. in 1940 to be sure, but probably no more than 1/2 to 1/3 of what there is now. Also, there was more public transportation. L.A. had a vast establishment of streetcars and busses in those days. The bus lines are still going strong but unfortunately the streetcars are no longer with us.

L.A. was already large in 1940, about 1.5 millioin in the City proper and maybe 4 million in the greater metropolitan area. Today's figures have ballooned to 4 million and 18 million respectively.
Lakey

 

[FoTi]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Yeh, Lakey....I liked the street cars. Too bad they got rid of them. My grandmother used to take me on the streetcar, in the early 40's, to McArthur Park (I think that's what it was called), to ride in the boats and feed popcorn to the ducks. She also would take me to the local grocery store, which was less than a block from her house, for an ice cream cone. Those were such special treats....little things were special back then, prior to TV and all the electronic stuff and expensive toys that kids have today. Kids didn't live on a diet of sugar back then, either, so an ice cream cone was really special. My grandmother and great grandmother lived on New Hampshire, just south of Melrose. I would imagine that area is probably pretty much the same. I never saw it change over the years, like the San Fernando Valley did.

Lakey, I used to ride the bus home from Van Nuys High School until 1957 and it was still just a gas station on one corner, a news stand on another corner, another gas station on another corner and a corn field on the other corner. I used to get off the bus at that corner and walk home from there. I don't recall any neon there at that time except for the La Reina theatre on Ventura Blvd, a block west of Van Nuys Blvd. And the only drive-in I remember is Bob's Big Boy. I had a car in '58 and we used to go there after school for fries and cherry cokes or hot fudge sundaes, but I don't recall any waitresses in cheer leader outfits on roller skates. There were waitresses that brought food to the car, though. There weren't any high rise buildings on Van Nuys and Ventura back then. Van Nuys Blvd ....out in Van Nuys was more built up and that's were Bob's Big Boy was - not far from the high school. Panorama City was getting into the high rise buildings back then....that's where my parent's business was and they bought a high rise on Van Nuys Blvd in Panorama City, but there weren't any in Sherman Oaks at that time. Ventura Blvd at that time was just a series of small, one story stores or shops near the area of Van Nuys Blvd. I didn't like the changes because I remembered Sherman Oaks as being such a nice little town and all the "improvements" spoiled it. When I last saw it, it looked like Las Vegas on steriods. The essence was gone. Besides that corn field had really good corn and watermelons, etc . During the summer when I was in grammar school, my mother would go there everyday to get fresh corn for dinner. It was so yummy! It was such a nice area to live in. Now it's all kind of mucked up.

 

[Ted]

Re: Not The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Here's a joyful video, just 6:23 in length. The first part is interesting. Technology is amazing. The later part, a demonstration of the technology, is simply joyful. :dancer: Check it out. See if you feel likewise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLnOPA7oMxY

 

[lkwdblds]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Yeh, Lakey....I liked the street cars. Too bad they got rid of them. My grandmother used to take me on the streetcar, in the early 40's, to McArthur Park (I think that's what it was called), to ride in the boats and feed popcorn to the ducks. She also would take me to the local grocery store, which was less than a block from her house, for an ice cream cone. Those were such special treats....little things were special back then, prior to TV and all the electronic stuff and expensive toys that kids have today. Kids didn't live on a diet of sugar back then, either, so an ice cream cone was really special. My grandmother and great grandmother lived on New Hampshire, just south of Melrose. I would imagine that area is probably pretty much the same. I never saw it change over the years, like the San Fernando Valley did.

Lakey, I used to ride the bus home from Van Nuys High School until 1957 and it was still just a gas station on one corner, a news stand on another corner, another gas station on another corner and a corn field on the other corner. I used to get off the bus at that corner and walk home from there. I don't recall any neon there at that time except for the La Reina theatre on Ventura Blvd, a block west of Van Nuys Blvd. And the only drive-in I remember is Bob's Big Boy. I had a car in '58 and we used to go there after school for fries and cherry cokes or hot fudge sundaes, but I don't recall any waitresses in cheer leader outfits on roller skates. There were waitresses that brought food to the car, though. There weren't any high rise buildings on Van Nuys and Ventura back then. Van Nuys Blvd ....out in Van Nuys was more built up and that's were Bob's Big Boy was - not far from the high school. Panorama City was getting into the high rise buildings back then....that's where my parent's business was and they bought a high rise on Van Nuys Blvd in Panorama City, but there weren't any in Sherman Oaks at that time. Ventura Blvd at that time was just a series of small, one story stores or shops near the area of Van Nuys Blvd. I didn't like the changes because I remembered Sherman Oaks as being such a nice little town and all the "improvements" spoiled it. When I last saw it, it looked like Las Vegas on steriods. The essence was gone. Besides that corn field had really good corn and watermelons, etc . During the summer when I was in grammar school, my mother would go there everyday to get fresh corn for dinner. It was so yummy! It was such a nice area to live in. Now it's all kind of mucked up.

FoTi - Maybe we met as toddlers in Mc Arthur Park. It was then called Westlake Park. I think the name was changed immediately after WWII to honor General Doublas Mc Arthur. There was a companion park in the East side of L.A. called Eastlake Park. I do not know if that one got renamed as well.

My Grandpa used to take me to Mc Arthur Park but he died from diabeties in February of 1942 when I was 2 years and 2 months old. My Uncle took over taking me to Westlake Park every week end. They used to have motor boats in the park and I remember receiving a motor boat "license" as a 3 or 4 year old which was some worthless piece of paper made up to look like an official license to operate boats. I hung on to the license for at least 5 years.

With all my ability to remember incidents from my early, early this lifetime period, I do not remember ever being with my Grandpa. Probably they were all pleasure moments with no trauma. The ones from 9 months old which I do remember all have some trauma or discomfort in them.

I do, however, remember going with my parents to visit my Grandpa in the hospital, a day or two before he died. OF ALL PLACES, HE WAS STAYING AT THE CEDARS OF LEBANON HOSPITAL which is now the Big Blue Complex on L. Ron Hubbard Way. I remember riding up on an elevator with my parents to visit Grandpa. I was very excited to see him but then the attendents told us that he was too sick for us to visit. The door to his room had a glass panel with chicken wire in it. My Dad held me up to the glass and pointed out his bed. I waved to him but he did not respond. I believe he was in a coma and in a day or two he passed away.

FoTi - On the street corner in the Valley, I defer to your superior knowledge since you grew up there while I only went there on a few occasions. I think that I have my streets mixed up. The areas I went to were on or near Ventura Blvd. and not Van Nuys Blvd. I believe that Ventura Blvd. around Sherman Oaks and Encino was pretty well built up by 1956. I thought Van Nuys Blvd was not that far away and was probably similar but it is interesting to find out that it was still basically empty in those days.

One thing that WAS also pretty empty in 1956 was Orange County. Before Disneyland, there was not much going on there except the famous beach communities such as Newport Beach, with its boardwalk and ferris wheel and Laguna Beach, a famous "Art Colony" type of City. In the 1950 census, Anaheim and Fullerton both had about 13,000 residents.

When Disneyland opened in 1955, all that changed. Anaheim ballooned rapidly to over a 100,000 while nearby Fullerton absorbed some of the Anaheim overflow and grew to over 50,000. A high school friend, Doug, had an aunt and uncle living in Anaheim and I visited there with him several times in 1956 and it was still very open with very little traffic except, of course, around Disneyland which was thick with traffic.
Lakey

 

[FoTi]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Lakey, I doubt that we met as toddlers. I was pretty much kept from playing with other kids....I think my mother was afraid I'd catch something and get sick.

Van Nuys Blvd was where the teens went to cruise with their cars on Fri and Sat nights and especially on Wed nights. Here's all the links I could find that referred back to those days and the history of that area. Some are interesting.

Studio City was a more built up area of Ventura Blvd during that time.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_17231106

On the next one you can look at Bob's Big Boy and then scroll down a bit to Cruising. Maybe this will look familiar.

http://www.americassuburb.com/gone.html

Here's some pics of Van Nuys, including the snow of 1948. I remember that. We had 6 inches of snow and my mother couldn't get the car up our driveway. It was fun. We built a snowman in the front yard. My father took beautiful pictures of the snow. Unfortunately I don't have any of my family pictures.

Here's one about the Valley and horses.

http://www.cowboyup.com/SFValley.html

I tried to find more pictures around that time, but this is all I could find. I guess nobody had the foresight to know that we would someday have the internet and people might be looking for something like this.

I loved Newport Beach with the fun arcade. The first time I went there, I was maybe 3 or 4. Cotton Candy and Candied Apples and the smell of fried foods. Yumm. There was a pic in my family album of me and my dad there....I think my mom was taking the picture. And I loved even more, Balboa Island.....my family spent my last two summers in high school there for a couple of weeks each time and we'd take the ferry over to Newport Beach and go to the fun arcade. I won a bear once throwing balls and knocking something over....I think they were bowling pins. I spend a ton of quarters trying to win another one. I could have bought a bear for what I wasted in quarters. LOL My cousins and some of our friends went water skiiing everyday in the back bay. I met my first husband there.

I remember when Disneyland opened. I watched it on TV. It was exciting. I was 13. I thought the kids who got to go to the opening were so lucky. I loved Disneyland. I did a commercial there when I was in my early 20's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXDfDZcP3NA&feature=related

The last time I went to Disneyland was around 1984. I rode on Space Mountain. It was overwhelming. I lost my desire to go to Disneyland.

I also loved Knotts Berry Farm.....we used to go there sometimes for a Sunday chicken dinner. There was their very small ghost town which eventually kept being added to and turned into a big theme park, like Disneyland. I loved going to both places when I was younger.

Laguna Beach was cool too. My aunt and uncle settled there for their retirement years....waiting to die. When I was younger, my parents spent a vacation there and I went body surfing. I got picked up by a wave and smashed straight down and bounced on the sand...ouch. Turned out not to be a good place to body surf. LOL

 

[lkwdblds]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Lakey, I doubt that we met as toddlers. I was pretty much kept from playing with other kids....I think my mother was afraid I'd catch something and get sick.

Van Nuys Blvd was where the teens went to cruise with their cars on Fri and Sat nights and especially on Wed nights. Here's all the links I could find that referred back to those days and the history of that area. Some are interesting.

So FoTi, you are confusing me! I said that by 1956 Van Nuys Blvd. was built up and had lots of fast food drive ins and all sorts of neon. You told me that I was wrong and that that there was nothing much going on there. Well, I am positive that I experienced these fast food drive in restuarants on some very busy and built up streets in 1956 so I figured that I must have been on Ventura Blvd. Well and good but you are now saying that Van Nuys Blvd. was actually quite developed at that time and you present videos to back that up! What's going on? Please clarify.

Studio City was a more built up area of Ventura Blvd during that time.

http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_17231106

On the next one you can look at Bob's Big Boy and then scroll down a bit to Cruising. Maybe this will look familiar.

http://www.americassuburb.com/gone.html

Here's some pics of Van Nuys, including the snow of 1948. I remember that. We had 6 inches of snow and my mother couldn't get the car up our driveway. It was fun. We built a snowman in the front yard. My father took beautiful pictures of the snow. Unfortunately I don't have any of my family pictures.

Here's one about the Valley and horses.

http://www.cowboyup.com/SFValley.html

I tried to find more pictures around that time, but this is all I could find. I guess nobody had the foresight to know that we would someday have the internet and people might be looking for something like this.

I loved Newport Beach with the fun arcade. The first time I went there, I was maybe 3 or 4. Cotton Candy and Candied Apples and the smell of fried foods. Yumm. There was a pic in my family album of me and my dad there....I think my mom was taking the picture. And I loved even more, Balboa Island.....my family spent my last two summers in high school there for a couple of weeks each time and we'd take the ferry over to Newport Beach and go to the fun arcade. I won a bear once throwing balls and knocking something over....I think they were bowling pins. I spend a ton of quarters trying to win another one. I could have bought a bear for what I wasted in quarters. LOL My cousins and some of our friends went water skiiing everyday in the back bay. I met my first husband there.

I remember when Disneyland opened. I watched it on TV. It was exciting. I was 13. I thought the kids who got to go to the opening were so lucky. I loved Disneyland. I did a commercial there when I was in my early 20's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXDfDZcP3NA&feature=related

The last time I went to Disneyland was around 1984. I rode on Space Mountain. It was overwhelming. I lost my desire to go to Disneyland.

I also loved Knotts Berry Farm.....we used to go there sometimes for a Sunday chicken dinner. There was their very small ghost town which eventually kept being added to and turned into a big theme park, like Disneyland. I loved going to both places when I was younger.

Laguna Beach was cool too. My aunt and uncle settled there for their retirement years....waiting to die. When I was younger, my parents spent a vacation there and I went body surfing. I got picked up by a wave and smashed straight down and bounced on the sand...ouch. Turned out not to be a good place to body surf. LOL

Its funny that you should newspaper files from the Los Angeles Daily News. I had a morning paper route with that long gone independent newspaper in 1953 and 1954. Los Angeles had 5 metropolitan newspapers at that time. The L.A. Times was huge and was a morning offering and then they brought out an afternoon newspaper called the L.A. Mirror. The company was renamed the Times-Mirror Corp.

Meanwhile, the Hearst newspaper chain offered the L.A. Examiner as competition to the Times in the morning market and the highly respected Herald Express in the afternoon. Bringing up the rear was the afternoon independent called the Daily News. This newspaper went our of business in 1954. The name "Daily News" was revived decades later by a Valley based newspaper called the Daily News which is still in business but it has no connection to the old Daily News.

When the old Daily News folded, large sections of it were bought out by Times-Mirror Corp and became features in the Mirror, which was renamed the Mirror-News.

My boss at the Daily News, Ernie, became a boss for the Mirror-News. My route was a morning route but while the Mirror-News was an afternoon paper. Even so, Ernie pleaded with me to take the afternoon Mirror News Route. I agreed to deliver it for two months until he could find another paper boy. He did and I gave up my route.

On the other nostalgia, I remember well the Ferry between the main part of Newport Beach to Balboa Island.

Also, Knott's Berry farm was a lot of fun, both before and after Disneyland arrived on the scene. That old Ghost Town used to be free. After Disneyland became so successful Knott's started charging admission to enter Ghost Town and one had to buy coupon books to go on their rides. Those famous Chicken Dinners are still being served nightly at Knotts. It is still a very good and full dinner at a very reasonable price.

Great on your appearing in that Pepsi commercial! You really had the look of a 1950's hip and clean cut young person!!
Lakey

 

[LongTimeGone]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Yes....this is an interesting subject. I experienced a strange kind of disorienting shock when I looked at the area where I grew up (some 55 years later). The corner of Van Nuys Blvd and Ventura Blvd went from a cornfield to highrise buildings. Sherman Oaks was two blocks long when I was a kid.....now it's neon light city - nightclub alley. It was mind boggling to see the change. I didn't like it. And I have recently gone on Google and looked up the houses where I grew up. They have all been significantly altered by subsequent owners and are no longer recognizable as the houses that I lived in over 60 years ago. The only things that were recognizable were the addresses. It's fascinating and disturbing at the same time. Life seems to be changing so fast these days, it's hard to keep up with it.

Roger....I look forward to whatever info you plan to bring to the board. I'm sure it will all be interesting stuff.

Some years ago my brother and I returned to visit the home we grew up in, back in the 1950's and 60's. It was a huge place with a rich history. It had been nurse’s quarters in WWII and it was lovingly renovated over the years by our father. We grew up free and happy in the house with views of the entire Gold Coast of Queensland. We knew all the neighbours and had parties and many great times.

My brother and I stood in silence when we arrived to reminisce. It's gone forever; the land where it stood is now a car park for a high-rise building.

There is nothing left to indicate that our family or our friends were ever there.


On Google Earth you can see the block with a swimmng pool just go to Petrie St, Gold Coast QLD, Australia

Yes FoTi life is moving way too fast.

LTG

 

[FoTi]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Yes....this is an interesting subject. I experienced a strange kind of disorienting shock when I looked at the area where I grew up (some 55 years later). The corner of Van Nuys Blvd and Ventura Blvd went from a cornfield to highrise buildings. Sherman Oaks was two blocks long when I was a kid.....now it's neon light city - nightclub alley. It was mind boggling to see the change. I didn't like it. And I have recently gone on Google and looked up the houses where I grew up. They have all been significantly altered by subsequent owners and are no longer recognizable as the houses that I lived in over 60 years ago. The only things that were recognizable were the addresses. It's fascinating and disturbing at the same time. Life seems to be changing so fast these days, it's hard to keep up with it.

Okay, Lakey, I'm not quite sure why you are confused, but....I'll try again. The corner of Van Nuys and Ventura was a gas station on the northwest corner, a news stand on the southwest corner, another gas station on the southeast courner and a corn field or vacant land on the northeast corner. It's still the same today except for the tall building on the northeast corner where the cornfield was when I was in high school.

The main town or drag of Sherman Oaks at that time was only a couple of blocks long and there were no drive-ins there. The only drive-in at that time was Bob's Big Boy out in Van Nuys near Van Nuys High School, on Van Nuys Blvd which is several miles from Ventura Blvd. That's where the kids used to cruise with their cars at night showing off their low rider cars and trying to impress and pick up chicks.....on Van Nuys Blvd, not on Ventura blvd That activity gradually grew until later the cars ended up cruising Ventura Blvd, as well....that is, until the police eventually put an end to it.

There still were no drive-in restaurants on Ventura Blvd in that area. The only one at that time was Bob's Big Boy on Van Nuys Blvd, near Sherman Way. There was also one in Toluca Lake, on Riverside Drive, which was quite a ways from Van Nuys and Ventura Blvd.

I do seem to remember a drive-in that was in Hollywood, somewhere near La Brea and Sunset blvd?...I think it was called Tiny Naylors and my mother used to take me there sometimes for a hamburger when I was very small. They smelled so good! And I seem to remember that the waitresses there had roller skates, but I don't recall them wearing any cheerleader outfits. I only remember waitresses on roller skates with short skirts in the movies.

I was talking about where I grew up and the corner of Van Nuys Blvd and Ventura Blvd and the couple of blocks that was originally Sherman Oaks. Now....because you said that you remembered it being built up, I just put up a picture of Studio City which is miles from Sherman Oaks to show you that ..... that area of Ventura Blvd was built up at that time. The short block or two that was Sherman Oaks on Ventura Blvd back then is still pretty much the same today....small shops.

The area that has turned Neon and was startling to me is about a block or so west of Van Nuys Blvd on Ventura Blvd. That area has built up since I was in high school and there is a lot of night life and neon there. It wasn't there when I was in high school back in the late 50's.

Also the northeast corner of Van Nuys Blvd and Ventura Blvd was a cornfield that extended for several blocks in both directions when I was growing up. It was still there when I was in highschool, but has since been filled in with a tall building on the corner and is no longer an empty field. And the northwest corner next to the gas station on Van Nuys Blvd has a tall building as well. And the vacant land that I used to see when I rode home from school on the bus is all gone....all filled in now with buildings that weren't there when I was going to school. That's what I was talking about.

Are you still confused?


I was most impressed with the dummy in jail at Knoxberry Farm when I was little. He would talk to me and I couldn't see who was doing the talking or where they were hiding to see what I looked like, since he would call me blondie. LOL I loved the biscuits with butter and Boysenberry jam that they served with dinner. Yumm...

Also, on Balboa Island, near where the ferry landed, there was doughnut shop and I used to go there in the morning and buy doughnuts for everybody staying at our house. They had the best doughnuts I think I ever ate. And the Jolly Roger restaurant.....remember that? They had wonderful sundaes and the offer if you could eat two of their giant sundaes, with all flavors of ice cream and all kinds of syrup, you would get the third one free. I never saw anyone get a free one. LOL They also had a stand out front where they sold tacos and rootbeer. Dang those were good. I loved those two summer vacations on Balboa Island.

Yep...I was the all American girl in the early 60's....exactly what they were looking for....that's how I got work.

Reminiscing about stuff in the L.A. area is making me wish I was there again. L.A. and the surrounding areas have a lot more to do and are a lot more interesting than where I live now. ....but....there is no way I could ever afford to come back there to live and I've had enough earthquakes to last me forever, so I guess I'll just stay where I am.

Sherman Oaks was actually a very nice area to grow up in back in those days. I didn't really appreciate it as much then as I do now....I just sort of took it for granted that everywhere else was pretty much like where I lived. I was pretty sheltered .... my parents didn't want me to see the poorer side of life, which is quite unfortunate, because....if they had allowed me the freedom to explore the world and see what was out there, I probably would have made different choices in life and would have been in a better position today.

If we do go on to live another life, hopefully I've learned something and will be a little smarter and make better choices next time. I really blew it this time.

 

[RogerB]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Hey, FoTi,

You is a good looking young lady!

Maybe Pepsi needs you again to pitch to the "now still young generation"? You know, the we're-getting-along-in-years-types who refuse to age!

By the way, there is correct tech on body surfing . . . . being dumped head-first into the sand is not part of it

Actually, one of my favorite restaurants in the universe is in Laguna Beach . . . it's at the Surf & Sand Hotel . . . . dinner with the setting sun over the ocean, viewed from atop the cliff in the restaurant is magnificent, along with spectacular food and wine

Life's good when you can get to enjoy it!

V and I did Derek Jacobi playing King Lear on Sunday afternooon. Derek played Cadfael, the medieval mystery-crime-solving monk in the British TV series of that name shown on PBS here in the US. He's been all over the place doing Shakespeare and other classics.

It was a rather good parade of fools, idiocy, vanity, evil, murder, death, deceit, arrogance, stupidity and other such charms of humanity . . . . but all in all it was a magnificent show!

V tends to want to do live theater plays a little more than me. I very much prefer the musicals and some dance stuff (though ballet bores me).

Ya, life is good when you can get to enjoy it . . . and can afford it

Rog

 

[Ted]

Re: Not The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Didja ever notice how what you put out you often get back? I mean, you can spend a buck unwisely, and it never comes back. But there are lots of subtle things that do eventually come back.

I used to carry one of my Nikon cameras everywhere I went. I studied the old masters, and modern masters. I attempted to render in 35mm things that were best served by larger formats. I loved Kodachrome! Oh, my heart aches for some 25 ASA Kodachromes.

I photographed people, too--my friends, my family, strangers. When our kids were born, I went crazy photographing them. Now my oldest daughter, the one I photographed the most, has a budding business as a photographer. She is also a bit of a "safe terminal." People come to her with their troubles. She listens. She offers sound and minimal advice. I did not encourage her to go in these directions unless it was by the example I set, and her observations of that.

Humm... That apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Here's an email she forwarded to me this morning. It comes from the boudoir photography blog that she subscribes to. Brian Tracy is a motivational speaker. I am in accord with about everything he talks about. The following is no exception:

THE BOUDOIR DIVAS BLOG
Random Act of Kindness From Pops
WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2011 POSTED IN JUST BECAUSE, MARISSA
This afternoon I was going through my emails and I came across a newsletter my Dad was sweet enough to forward me today. He must know me well or something I’d like to think that I am usually an optimist, but I have some serious whiny days. Only a Dad would be able to sense today was one of those days. Hee hee. Here’s the rejuvinating info that I think I already knew, but almost wish I could tattoo it on my forearm! Someone give me an aaaaammmmeeennn to this reminder! xo- M

Look on the Bright Side
By Brian Tracy

The most important application of the law of cause and effect in your life is this: thoughts are causes, and conditions are effects. What this means is that your thought is creative. You create your world by the way you think. Nothing in your world has any meaning except for the meaning you give by how you think about it and talk about it. If you don’t care about something, it has no effect on your emotions and actions.

How to be Happy
Many thousands of people have been interviewed over the years to find out what they think about most of the time. Can you guess what the most successful and happy people think about all day long? The answer is simple. Happy healthy people think about what they want, and how to get it, most of the time. When you think and talk about what you want, and how to get it, you feel happier and in greater control of your life.

How to be Unhappy
What do unhappy people think and talk about most of the time? Unfortunately, they think and talk about things they don’t want. They think and talk about their problems and pains, and the people they don’t like. Sometimes, their whole lives revolve around their complaints and criticisms. And the more they think and talk about what they don’t want, the unhappier they become.

The Most Important Quality
Based on many psychological tests, the happiest people seem to have a special quality that enables them to live a better life than average. Can you guess what it is? It is the quality of optimism! The best news about optimism is that it is a learnable quality. You can learn to be a more positive, confident, and optimistic person by thinking the way optimists do—most of the time.

Look for the Good
Optimists seem to have different ways of dealing with the world that set them apart from the average. First, as we mentioned, they keep their minds on what they want, and keep looking for ways to get it. They are clear about their goals and they are confident that they will accomplish them, sooner or later. Second, optimists look for the good in every problem or difficulty. When things go wrong, as they often do, they say, “That’s good!” and then set about finding something positive about the situation.

Seek the Valuable Lesson
The third quality of optimists is that they seek the valuable lesson in every setback or reversal. Rather than getting upset and blaming someone else for what has happened, they take control over their emotions by saying, “What can I learn from this experience?” Fully 95% of everything you do is determined by your habits, good or bad. When you repeatedly look for the good and seek the valuable lesson in every obstacle or disappointment, you very soon develop the habit of thinking like an optimist. As a result, you feel happier, healthier, and more in control of your world.

The Body-Mind Connection
More and more doctors are coming to the conclusion that 80% or more of all diseases and ailments are psychosomatic in origin. This means that “psycho,” the mind, makes “soma,” the body, sick. You do not get sick from what you are eating, but from what is eating you.

Action Exercise
Resolve from now on to see your glass of life half full rather than half empty. Give thanks for your many blessings in life rather than worrying or complaining about the things you do not have. Assume the best of intentions on the part of everyone around you. [Ted's comment: Don't forget that you made that assumption as that can keep you out of trouble when/if it pops up.]

 

[Ted]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

[...]
I remember when Disneyland opened. I watched it on TV. It was exciting. I was 13. I thought the kids who got to go to the opening were so lucky. I loved Disneyland. I did a commercial there when I was in my early 20's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXDfDZcP3NA&feature=related

[...]

FoTi, I recall seeing this commercial many years ago! But had I seen it lately not knowing you were in it, I'd be wonder who the heck is that young lady? I know I know her, but from where? Distinctive profile, distinctive smile. Very attractive. Thanks for sharing.

 

[lkwdblds]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Hey, FoTi,

You is a good looking young lady!

Maybe Pepsi needs you again to pitch to the "now still young generation"? You know, the we're-getting-along-in-years-types who refuse to age!

By the way, there is correct tech on body surfing . . . . being dumped head-first into the sand is not part of it

Actually, one of my favorite restaurants in the universe is in Laguna Beach . . . it's at the Surf & Sand Hotel . . . . dinner with the setting sun over the ocean, viewed from atop the cliff in the restaurant is magnificent, along with spectacular food and wine

Life's good when you can get to enjoy it!

V and I did Derek Jacobi playing King Lear on Sunday afternooon. Derek played Cadfael, the medieval mystery-crime-solving monk in the British TV series of that name shown on PBS here in the US. He's been all over the place doing Shakespeare and other classics.

It was a rather good parade of fools, idiocy, vanity, evil, murder, death, deceit, arrogance, stupidity and other such charms of humanity . . . . but all in all it was a magnificent show!

V tends to want to do live theater plays a little more than me. I very much prefer the musicals and some dance stuff (though ballet bores me).

Ya, life is good when you can get to enjoy it . . . and can afford it

Rog

As regards the beautiful cliffside restaurant in Laguna beach, I believe that was once called the Victor Hugo Restaurant. Our family ate there in 1954. In later years it changed hands and became Las Brisas which was a sort of Spanish Restaurant. I have dined there 3 or 4 times over the decades. Has it changed hands again or is it still Las Brisas. I am not certain.
Lakey

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Lakey,

I have two older brothers. The oldest around your age and the other one was a couple of years younger.

Around 20 years ago my oldest brother went through a divorce…he was just under 18 and she was just under 17 when they got married. They didn’t “have to get married”…it was a different time (‘58) and a different place (deep ‘Country’). He was, and still is, one helluva a horseman and cowboy.

They had two children, first a boy and then a girl. The boy graduated high school with a full scholarship for the Rodeo Team at a major Ag University. Two weeks after my nephew graduated high school he died, saving the life of his best friend.

The death of this fine, fine young man tore my brother’s soul apart and, over a period of years, became a fulcrum in his marriage. He threw himself into even harder into building his horse and cattle operation and worked long and physically hard hours that would make an SO Member feel “out ethics”.

Then the IRS came and it turns out my brother’s wife, the bookkeeper for the business, had been “fudging things” for years and, overnight to him, he was in trouble.

As things unfolded, they separated and, in my brother’s mind, somehow they’d get through this but he had to take care of the cattle and what he had slaved for all his life and he couldn’t do that when he had to come in from the pastures every night with his wife telling him how everything was his fault. His determination in the face of profound disappointment and sadness is one of the most magnificent displays of courage, honor and drive I have ever seen.

My second oldest brother lived “in the City”. He, and his wife, had Masters Degrees and were, in “City Terms” affluent. He was very close to my oldest brother, whom had “watched out for” and sought to defend him, in a physically abusive household during childhood. But my second oldest brother’s wife was very “position and appearances” conscious and looked “down” upon my agrarian oldest brother and over the years, though they lived a few hundred miles apart, the two brothers saw less and less of each other.

Shortly after my oldest brother and his wife separated my second oldest brother’s wife contacted my oldest brother’s wife and began a vitriolic and calculated “friendship” to advise just how to go about “dealing” with my oldest brother. The results were quick, irreversible and very deadly. The ensuing divorce was very acrimonious and my oldest brother’s wife with the help, support and advice of our brother’s wife, succeeded in nearly destroying this fine and noble man. Between my two sisters-in-law and the IRS the fruits of 30 years of blood, sweat and tears evaporated in one year and he was near bankruptcy.

My oldest brother never asked me for any help and the only help I offered that he would accept was love and someone to talk to now and then. I took it upon myself to call our brother and ask him just what in the hell was he doing. His response was that he was “trapped” and “not taking sides”. My response to that was that this isn’t a sides taking issue, our oldest brother is our brother and he isn’t looking for “sides” to be taken but your wife sure has taken sides and she’s helping someone to hurt your brother. My second oldest brother is the one that is now deceased. He was a fine and beautiful man but I will never understand why he responded as he did to what I had just said.

After a long pause, he said, “Well, you don’t know the whole story.” To which I replied, “I don’t? No, my brother, you don’t know the whole story. The WHOLE story is this; there’s gonna be a divorce, your wife is helping to ensure your brother is gonna lose his horses, his cattle, his ranch and may well go bankrupt and you know what? The one thing that will still be unchanged when this is all over is that he is still your brother.” He thanked me for my opinion and hung up. We did not speak again for several years.

Over the next fifteen years or so, due in large measure to the efforts and “good offices” of my sister, we brothers spent some time together and got along just fine in short get togethers but there was always the dark cloud of the “issue” pervading our time together. The “issue” was left untouched until the final days of my brother number two’s life.

When the call came from my sister, telling my oldest brother that our brother was in the hospital and not expected to live more than a week or two, he dropped everything (he had rebuilt his life and has a first class little horse operation) and drove hundreds of miles to the hospital. For the next 10 days he barely left my brothers side…he slept in a big chair in my brothers hospital room every night so that his brother would not be alone. The sister-in-law that had caused him so much pain and sorrow was a basket case, heavily sedated and my brother took the lead.

Over the days, the years fell away and they were once again “thick as thieves” like they’d been when kids. A couple of days before my brother passed on, during the night when it was only the two of them in the room, he told my brother he was sorry for had happened re: the “issue”. My oldest brother, being the rascal that he is, said that that was OK, it was actually his own fault as to what happened and not his brother’s…he just hadn’t “whupped” him enough when they were growing up.

I hope that you and Reuben will mend your fences some day. You’re a fine feller and I’m sure Rueben is, too. Time is fleeting, life is short but bonds of brothers run deep and are unique.

Face

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

FoTi, I recall seeing this commercial many years ago! But had I seen it lately not knowing you were in it, I'd be wonder who the heck is that young lady? I know I know her, but from where? Distinctive profile, distinctive smile. Very attractive. Thanks for sharing.

Wow! I remember seeing that commercial, too. Way cool, FoTi…way cool!

Face

 

[FoTi]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Some years ago my brother and I returned to visit the home we grew up in, back in the 1950's and 60's. It was a huge place with a rich history. It had been nurse’s quarters in WWII and it was lovingly renovated over the years by our father. We grew up free and happy in the house with views of the entire Gold Coast of Queensland. We knew all the neighbours and had parties and many great times.

My brother and I stood in silence when we arrived to reminisce. It's gone forever; the land where it stood is now a car park for a high-rise building.

There is nothing left to indicate that our family or our friends were ever there.


On Google Earth you can see the block with a swimmng pool just go to Petrie St, Gold Coast QLD, Australia

Yes FoTi life is moving way too fast.

LTG

That would be a lot more shocking and disheartening if everything just disappeared, as if it never existed.

 

[FoTi]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

Hey, FoTi,

You is a good looking young lady!

Maybe Pepsi needs you again to pitch to the "now still young generation"? You know, the we're-getting-along-in-years-types who refuse to age!

By the way, there is correct tech on body surfing . . . . being dumped head-first into the sand is not part of it

Actually, one of my favorite restaurants in the universe is in Laguna Beach . . . it's at the Surf & Sand Hotel . . . . dinner with the setting sun over the ocean, viewed from atop the cliff in the restaurant is magnificent, along with spectacular food and wine

Life's good when you can get to enjoy it!

V and I did Derek Jacobi playing King Lear on Sunday afternooon. Derek played Cadfael, the medieval mystery-crime-solving monk in the British TV series of that name shown on PBS here in the US. He's been all over the place doing Shakespeare and other classics.

It was a rather good parade of fools, idiocy, vanity, evil, murder, death, deceit, arrogance, stupidity and other such charms of humanity . . . . but all in all it was a magnificent show!

V tends to want to do live theater plays a little more than me. I very much prefer the musicals and some dance stuff (though ballet bores me).

Ya, life is good when you can get to enjoy it . . . and can afford it

Rog

Thanks for the compliment Rog. I've become part of the "Youth is wasted on the young" club. I think we should start out old and then go towards young so that we have something to look forward to.

I wouldn't pitch Pepsi today....in my ignorance of youth, I didn't know I was pitching poison.

I keep refusing to age, but everytime I look in the mirror, it argues with me and shows me I'm full of sh*t.

I didn't get dumped on my head when body surfing in Laguna.....I got plopped down on my butt. When there's no water underneath you, there's no way to surf....you just free fall. I just landed on the sand .... the wave just threw me down :shock: and then went over me....it was weird. I was used to body surfing, but not with a wave like that.

Another time when I was surfing somewhere near Hermosa Beach, I was on my way out, in the water, with my board and I stood there watching as the water was being sucked away from under me, into the wave, and this freak wave kept growing bigger and bigger and bigger until it looked like it was about 3 stories high. I freaked out. I didn't know what to do with this thing. I shoved my board one way hoping it would go away from me, back to shore, because I didn't want to get tangled up with it or hit by it and I could see I couldn't take it with me. I dove into the wave in the other direction trying to go through it and out the back side. That thing picked me up and tumbled me over and over again. I didn't know which way was up. I didn't know if I was going to live through this or not, but I eventually (it seemed like a long time, but it wasn't), came out the top and was looking way down (from on top of this giant wave) at my family on the beach. They were standing there watching me. After that thing subsided, I body surfed back to the beach and they were all saying they saw my board being thrown up in the air and it looked like it came down on top of me. They were watching to see if I surfaced. We then left. I didn't feel like surfing anymore. When we got in the car, my nose started to hurt. Apparently the board did hit me, but I didn't feel it until a few minutes later. I guess it smacked me so hard and so fast that I just went numb and didn't notice it with everything else going on and trying not to drown. I'm probably lucky I didn't get knocked unconscious or killed. It left a slight bump on my nose which wasn't there before, which I wasn't too happy about and I tend to have sinus problems on that side of my nose sometimes. I never went to a doctor for it, but I think I might have cracked my nose on that side. I never went surfing again. I developed a powerful respect for water, the ocean and it's waves. The ocean was too big and poweful for me to deal with any more. I've never been one of those "get back on the horse and ride" people. Once I become a coward, I tend to remain so.

Surf and Sand....top drawer. I like "life at the top"....love it in fact. Being rich and enjoying those things that money can buy can be quite enjoyable. Who said money can't buy happiness? I'd rather be rich than poor anyday.

I like musicals and dance stuff too, but I luv ballet. Been in love with ballet since I was a little kid. Couldn't wait to get my own pair of those pink toe shoes so I could dance on my toes like the big girls. Ballet and figure skating were my sports. I was also part monkey (I used to hang by the rafters in our house when I was a kid) and part fish (I spent a lot of time in the pool during the summer and a great deal of it underwater or on the bottom of the pool). As a teenager - 16 - it was Zuma Beach just about everyday during the summer. I miss the physical freedom of youth and what one can do with their body when they are young and supple and it doesn't hurt to bend one's self like a pretzel and falls aren't a threat to one's bones. The flexability of youth and ability to bounce back is wonderful!

 

[FoTi]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

FoTi, I recall seeing this commercial many years ago! But had I seen it lately not knowing you were in it, I'd be wonder who the heck is that young lady? I know I know her, but from where? Distinctive profile, distinctive smile. Very attractive. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Ted. I found this old Pepsi commercial on Youtube a while back. I was surprised to see it after all these years. I wish I still looked like this.....it would make lookin' in the mirror much more pleasant.

 

[FoTi]

Re: The old days - Aboard the Apollo - 1973

As regards the beautiful cliffside restaurant in Laguna beach, I believe that was once called the Victor Hugo Restaurant. Our family ate there in 1954. In later years it changed hands and became Las Brisas which was a sort of Spanish Restaurant. I have dined there 3 or 4 times over the decades. Has it changed hands again or is it still Las Brisas. I am not certain.
Lakey

Lakey, you don't live too far from Laguna.....maybe you could go over and check it out. Make yourself certain. Have a luxury meal, wander through the shops and check out the art....be a tourist for a day. It would be fun, no?