Diary entry for August 31, 1967:
Nothing unusual today.
This is the third day in a row with the exact same diary entry, but that gives us another chance to jump in the Wayback Time Machine and catch up on some photos that were previously missed. Today we'll go back to my post from August 12, 1967, which was our first visit to the Alligator Farm.
Remember my description of feeding time and the fact that smaller alligators would often get chomped by larger ones? Mom's caption of the picture below is "Feeding time at the Alligator Farm. Things like this happen daily."
Remember: Per the flyer from the Alligator Farm, alligators are cannibals.
You may also recall the first trip to the Alligator Farm resulted in the first bank of the bank collection being purchased. Here's a picture of that alligator bank, biting a quarter for scale. You might be able to see that the sticker attached to the tail says "California Alligator Farm." I especially like the green jewels for eyes and the jagged teeth in the wide open mouth.
Maybe tomorrow's diary entry will have something exciting for a change.
Letter postmarked August 30, 1967 (dated August 29):
Today's letter was the third one in a row with a zip code. Unfortunately Mom put the wrong zip code on this one (76204 instead of 76201). 76204 is a Denton zip code, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades so the zip code counter is reset to zero.
Dear Mother,
[Hey, what about Uncle Mike? The envelope was addressed to him, too, you know.]
I surely did enjoy your letter with the description of the "elegant" house. Is this the family whose five-year-old son drowned? If it is, I don't see how they could possibly enjoy the house. David Wayne is a big headache at times, but I couldn't live without him.
[Me, a big headache? Some things never change . . .]
Well, I received my final paycheck the other day. Sure will miss it - probably miss a few meals, too! That is the only thing about school I will miss though. If I ever do get melancholy, I have only to open the window that faces the kindergarten next door and the memories come rushing in - "Johnny, don't hit that girl! Children, please be quiet? Will you mind me?" See what I mean? By the way, talking about school reminds me. You remember that teacher that lived by us? She has a job teaching in Cross Plains, her hometown. Dave and I really felt like celebrating that good news. She didn't get fired and I'm glad she resigned before she did get the axe.
[In case I haven't mentioned it before, Mom had been teaching for a few years for the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. It looks like she decided to resign before going on this trip to Los Angeles. She didn't go back to teaching until the late 1970s, I think.]
[I had no idea there was a kindergarten next door to our apartment in Los Angeles. The buildings on either side of that apartment building now are also apartment buildings, but in looking at old satellite photos it looks like there wasn't an apartment building to the south when we lived there. The building that was there was shaped more like a house, so maybe that was a kindergarten at the time. A little research reveals the apartment building to the south was built in 1988.]
[The teacher Mom is referring to here is probably the same one she was referring to in her letter from August 1. It sounds like Mom isn't too upset about her moving away. (Cross Plains, TX is near Abilene.)]
Oops! Ran out of paper.
[All of Mom's letters up to this point were written on what appears to be yellow paper from a legal pad. She must have used up all the legal pads and switched to white loose-leaf notebook paper for the remainder of this letter.]
The Spanish section is on Olivera Street and it is in L. A. I'm sure we will make it over that way. There is so much to do in this city, that Dave and I can't decide what to do while you are here. You will have to help us decide. Don't worry about bringing enough money. We owe you a small fortune for feeding Taffy.
As for clothes . . . bring a few cool dresses as it is very hot during the day. Bring only a light sweater for night. By all means bring comfortable shoes - you just can't imagine how much we walk here! I'm still wearing my tennis shoes with holes in them. I'm hoping that your visit will be a big enough event to warrant a new pair. Mainly - be sure to come! I need you here soon and not only for new shoes.
[Ok, it looks like my grandmother's trip to visit us is still on, and Mom can't wait. That's quite understandable.]
I hope you didn't miss "The Fugitive" I really enjoyed the first show since it was located in L. A. I recognized several buildings and street names.
[That paragraph is pretty cool because it refers to a bit of television history. "The Fugitive," which ran from 1963 through 1967, was a TV series about a doctor who had been convicted of murdering his wife and was sentenced to death. He escaped while on the way to his execution, and spent the entire series staying one step ahead of the police while trying to find the one-armed man who he believed really did kill his wife. The two-part series finale, which wrapped things up nicely, was aired on August 22 and August 29, 1967. Part one did take place in Los Angeles, so that's the "first show" Mom is referring to. Depending on your source of information, part two of the final episode, which aired the date Mom wrote this letter, was the highest rated TV series episode ever until a certain episode of "Dallas" aired in 1980.]
I haven't written Uncle Ben and Aunt Edna or Myrna. I intend to write them soon. I keep pretty busy on letters - the Jennings, Nate and Judy, you and Mike, Wayne and Linda, a teacher friend, my neighbor Patsy, and Daddy and 'delia. Also I write Sara about once a month. The other letters are weekly. That's why I ran out of paper!
[Some of those folks have already been introduced, but some are new. Uncle Ben was my grandmother's uncle (her father's brother), and Edna was his wife. Their daughter Myrna was just two years older than Mom, and she and Mom were very good friends since she also lived in Denton. Some of my earliest childhood memories are from when I was with Mom and Myrna. I was a bit of a biter at some point when I was a toddler, and one of my memories from childhood was a time when I bit Myrna and she bit me back. That was a painful lesson, but it worked to make me stop biting people as far as I know.]
["The Jennings" Mom is referring to here are my dad's parents, who lived in Belton, TX. Nate is my dad's younger brother and Judy is his wife. "Daddy and 'delia" is referring to Mom's father (Marshall, aka "Alabama") and his second wife, Audelia.]
Did I write you that David Wayne and I spent one day at the zoo? Well . . . we did and it was just great. It was awfully hot that day and we couldn't even see all of it. I sure want to take you there.
Last Saturday we went to Jungleland. This is where all the TV and movie star animals live. It is also the place that David Wayne had the misfortune of being kissed by a camel, bitten by a llama, and gored by a goat. He also rode an elephant - all by himself. He sat on top of a giant turtle. We even got to see a lion tamer show. He jumped every time the whip snapped - but so did Dave. We bought him an elephant bank for his collection. Stupid me forgot to take the camera!
[I suppose that means the pictures I have from Jungleland were taken on a future visit, not the one on August 26. So you might see some more of those pictures in the future. In the meantime, however, I do have a surprise - the first bank picture! This week one of the boxes I unpacked from our recent move to North Carolina included some of the bank collection, and the Jungleland elephant bank was among them. Here's a picture of the elephant bank next to a US quarter for scale. The tip of the trunk has been chipped, but other than that it seems to be in decent condition.]
[When I turned this bank over to look inside I saw what looked like a couple of pieces of gum, as shown in this picture.]
[That stuff is very hard to the touch, and I never put gum in the banks, so I know it isn't gum. I think it's the rubber stopper that was in the bottom of this bank. A little history of the bank collection will explain why. Several months after we returned from Los Angeles we moved into our house in Farmers Branch when I started first grade. My dad put shelves up along one wall in my room, and the bank collection was proudly displayed on those shelves until I moved off to college in 1980, with the occasional rearrangement or removal for painting the room. I couldn't leave them in my room when I went to college because a certain sibling of mine moved into that room before I had really moved out, so Mom and I cleaned them all, wrapped them up, packed them in boxes, and stored them in the attic. And that's where they were for 25 years until I moved back to Texas and had a big enough house of my own to display them. In case you weren't aware, it can get hot in Texas. That means it can get really hot in an attic. So the elephant bank must have been placed upside down or on its side in the box such that over time, that poor little rubber stopper slowly sagged and melted and eventually dripped inside the elephant.]
Sunday I remembered the camera and we went to the Japanese Deer Park. This wasn't much of a place, but David Wayne enjoyed feeding the baby deer. (No injuries this time.) He also got to carry a pigeon on his arm. The most fun we had here was eating fortune cookies. The cookies didn't taste so good, but the fortunes were funny.
It was still early when we left the deer park, so we went to Knott's Berry Farm again - for the third time. It's so cheap there that we can go many times. We still haven't seen everything there. David Wayne rode the antique cars.
[Here's a scan of an item that might help explain why we went to Knott's Berry Farm so many times. This is the front and back of a trifold flyer for the park.]
[If the free parking, free admission, and full page of cheap attractions wasn't enough for you, just look at those restaurant menus. You could have inexpensive fun at Knott's Berry Farm all day long and then have filet mignon for dinner before you went home!]
[On the left side of the page of attractions, below Calico Mine Ride and above Cable Cars, you'll see the Bird Cage Theater, which featured "old time melodrama, music and vaudeville acts." I doubt we went there because my Dad wasn't really into those things, and I was only five, after all. But here's something interesting about the Bird Cage Theater. Between plays the actors would do short bits showcasing their individual talents, such as singing, dancing or standup comedy. From about 1963 through 1966, one of those actors, a recent high school graduate in front of his first paying audiences, honed his act which was a combination of comedy, juggling, magic and music. That young actor honed his act so well that he went on to release three comedy albums in the 1970s which sold over 3.5 million copies and won two Grammy awards for Best Comedy Album. That actor's name was Steve Martin. And now you know . . . the REST of the story.]
Monday, David Wayne and I spent another day at the beach. This time we carried a picnic lunch. I feel so over-dressed at the beach. My bathing suit has more material than any 12 others there. I really am glad David Wayne enjoys building sand castles instead of girl-watching!
[Some things never change . . .]
I just got another letter from you so I will answer your questions in that letter.
I'm glad you have been to see Wayne and Linda. I got Wayne a shirt for his birthday (like always), but I got him something else, too - a pad to protect his clothes from the baby. I had trouble getting a box so it didn't get there on time. I hope they take the pad as the "joke" I intended it to be.
I hate to hear Sara isn't feeling well. I guess I should write her another letter.
[Mom's Aunt Sara started feeling better. She's 98 years old as of August 2017.]
About letting us know when you will be here . . . well, I don't know exactly. Wayne could call Dave at work and we'll pay for the call. I guess Wayne knows the company - I don't. If the one o'clock flight is cheaper, take it! Remember it would only by 1:30 here! I'll ask Dave tonight if he can think of a way to let us know.
[This in an interesting dilemma you wouldn't expect to have in the connected world we live in today. My grandmother was making plans to fly to Los Angeles to visit us very soon, and they didn't think there was time to mail a letter to inform us of her arrival date and time. This was long before email, cell phones, and overnight package delivery services existed. Long distance phone calls weren't cheap, hence the offer to pay for the call if Mom's brother Wayne called my dad at work with the flight info. Hopefully we'll see what they worked out in the near future.]
Now, Mike, you just _can't_ let those hamsters die while mother is gone. David Wayne really wants to see them - in fact, he would like for Nana to bring them with her. His daddy feels a little differently about that. Also, congratulations on your speeches. I know you speak better than I used to sing at those luncheons. Maybe you can save the Mordecai reputation yet. Wayne did pretty good, but I ruined that easy enough. It's a good thing we had our little "post script" to fix things aright.
[Mom's older brother Wayne was born in 1937, she was born in 1941, and her younger brother Mike was born in 1950. They all graduated from Denton High School, hence the comments about Mike coming along as a "post script" to fix the Mordecai reputation.]
You asked if I had finished "The Honey Badger." I just started on it today. I've been reading that "Mandingo," "Drum," etc. series. David Wayne got finger paints from Nate and Judy and that keeps me busy. We are also melting crayons between wax paper. We're all looking forward to your visit.
[Another mention of "The Honey Badger." <chuckle chuckle>]
[Ah yes, melting crayons. I definitely remember doing that with Mom. As I recall, we would create a bunch of crayon shavings of various colors and spread them out on a large piece of wax paper. Then we would put a piece of wax paper over the top of that and Mom would iron it, just like she was ironing a shirt, which melted the crayon shavings. Multi-colored abstract patterns would result. Groovy, huh? I don't think any of those masterpieces made it back to Texas, unfortunately.]
Love,
Linda
Diary entry for August 30, 1967:
Nothing unusual today.
Another slow news day in the diary, but fortunately all is not lost because we have a letter! (see next post)
Diary entry for August 29, 1967:
"Nothing unusual today."
Today was another do-nothing day, so you know what that means, right? Another trip in the Wayback Time Machine to post photos I didn't realize I had a the time. Today we will revisit my post of August 1, 1967 regarding the first letter of this series. That letter introduced us to several new characters, the first of which is Taffy, our cocker spaniel. Here are two pictures taken in front of our house in Carrollton, TX. I'm not sure if these were taken before or after we lived in Los Angeles, but my best guess is before due to the color of the grass and the length of my hair. The first one is a picture of me holding Taffy in our front yard, and the second one is me and my mom both holding Taffy.
Wasn't I just cute as a button in those overalls?
Those utility poles across the street are a little harder to see now: https://www.google.com/maps/@32.9722335,-96.9050703,3a,75y,12.93h,106.1t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sRO9JrCj3TbCY9epKX-9zdQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
I think Taffy was about a year or two younger than me. She lived until at least 1981 (almost 20 years), which was after I graduated high school and moved away for college.
Diary entry for August 28, 1967:
We went to grocery store early. Came home and waited for mail. Then we packed a picnic lunch and went to the beach. We had a good time, but it was hot! David Wayne caught some minnows and brought them home, but they died.
Thank goodness the mail came in the morning, otherwise I would have been cheated out of that picnic lunch. So today Mom and I made another trip to the beach to check out the scantily clad beachgoers without Dad. I don't know if he'll ever make it back. Too bad about the minnows. They didn't have much of a chance. My desire to observe fish will be revisited later on, I hope.
Since I don't have any pictures associated with this trip to the beach, we will take a trip in the Wayback Time Machine and see what we can find. Let's go back to the post from July 28, 1967, which was the first one to mention the La Brea Tar Pits. Below are two pictures taken there (but not on that day). In the first one you can see what appears to be either a tar pit or a very gross lake of stagnant water. On the far side of the lake is a statue of an elephant, about to enter the tar pit only to be trapped for an eternity.
The second picture is me and my mother at La Brea Tar Pits with what looks like a pond with a fountain behind us. Note Mom's hairdo, white purse, and short dress that's not quite a miniskirt. No doubt this is a photo from the 1960s.
Although it looks like part of a skeleton, the thing in the lower right corner of the second picture is actually an artifact of Polaroid instant film processing from that era.
Diary entry for August 27, 1967:
We went to a Japanese deer park. David Wayne fed deer. He held a pigeon on his arm. We bought a Buddha bank and some fortune cookies.
Next we drove to Knott's Berry Farm. We went through several shops. David Wayne rode antique cars. We watched seals and we saw an organ grinder monkey - David Wayne got to give him a penny. We bought a covered wagon bank and a "thimble" jigger. Had a _good_ day!
Here are scans of the flyer for the Japanese Deer Park, plus our tickets with the date stamped on them.
I guess the previous day's animal attacks at Jungleland didn't make me too afraid of wild animals, since I fed the deer today. I don't remember going here, but I do remember the Buddha bank. You may notice the Deer Park tickets mention Movieland Wax Museum and Palace of Living Art. I do have flyers from both of them, so we probably visited those later.
According to the interwebs, Deer Park was only open from 1967 to 1975. Sadly, about 200 deer had to be euthanized when tuberculosis was discovered among the herd.
Hey, another trip to Knott's Berry Farm. That place must have been inexpensive and huge for us to make so many trips there. Here is a picture of me with the organ grinder monkey, which some of you have already seen because I posted it on Facebook this morning with the caption: "Fifty years ago today, a man let me touch his monkey."
The two banks added today brings the total up to six.
Diary entry for August 26, 1967:
We took David Wayne to Jungleland. He was kissed by a camel, bitten by a llama and gored by goats. He rode an elephant by himself and sat on top of a giant turtle. We saw a lion tamer show. Bought an elephant bank. Had a wonderful time!
Both of my parents absolutely loved to talk about this day at Jungleland many years later, always using the exact same wording Mom used in this diary entry: "kissed by a camel, bitten by a llama and gored by goats." (Alliteration is alluring.)
Before we get into those incidents, though, let's take a look at front and back of the Jungleland flyer Mom saved.
First, note that Jungleland was located in "smog-free" Thousand Oaks, California. Smog was clearly a big issue in some parts of southern California at the time.
As you can see, Jungleland was more than just a zoo. It opened in the 1920s after Universal Studios closed their animal facilities, and was used for holding and training many of the animals that appeared on movies and TV shows. Some of the more famous animals housed there included a couple of MGM lions, Mr. Ed the talking horse, and the chimpanzee from the Tarzan movies. Jungleland closed in 1969 due to competition from places like Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and Universal Studios. The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is now located on the site.
Ok, back to our fun-filled day. I think the camel incident occurred as we were just walking along a pathway and a camel leaned over a fence and licked the side or top of my head. I don't think I even saw the camel until after I got licked. One of the pictures in the photo album has this caption: "The 2-humped camel at Jungleland - this was not the same one that kissed David Wayne."
I don't remember the llama incident, which is surprising because I'm sure I screamed and cried like crazy when I got bit. (Mynd you, llama bites Kan be pretti nasti . . .) Mom said there was a group of boys in front of us who had been harassing the llamas and trying to get the llamas to spit at them. I guess one of the llamas had had enough by the time I showed up and he decided I got a little too close, so he bit me. The caption of this photo is "It was one of these llamas that bit David Wayne at Jungleland."
That fence in front of those llamas does not look very high at all, maybe four feet at the most. If visitors could walk up to that fence, it's no wonder there was an incident. Since Jayne Mansfield's six-year-old son had been mauled by a lion there less than a year earlier during his birthday party (the boy survived), you'd think Jungleland might have been a little more concerned with the safety of their guests.
I'm guessing the goat incident occurred in the baby zoo section. Being only five years old I was probably just the right height to get poked by goat horns in various places. The photo album does have photos of each of us holding a baby goat.
I do remember riding the elephant, but there aren't any pictures of it. The photo album has a picture of me riding a giant turtle at Knott's Berry Farm, but not at Jungleland.
Here is a picture of me drinking from a lion head fountain with my dad standing behind me. He did not always look like he had just gotten home from work and taken off his jacket and tie.
In the lower right corner you can see the head of a llama that must have been stalking me. Hey, this is the first picture of either one of my parents I've published. There will be more for sure.
The addition of the elephant bank from Jungleland brings the bank count to four now.
Diary entry for August 25, 1967: Homebound
I did not feel well today so we did not do anything. We stayed home at night, too.
Looks like Mom just can't shake this creeping crud, whatever it is.
The bad news is that there isn't much of anything in this diary entry. The good news is that I found another photo album yesterday that has lots of pictures from our time in Los Angeles, and some other relevant pictures. So on slow news days like today, I will reward my loyal followers with one or more pictures that I would have posted earlier if I had known I had them. On the blog itself I'm going to update the older entries as well. I may try that with the Facebook page, too, if it doesn't cause notifications to go out for those updates.
In today's Wayback Time Machine we revisit my post from July 21, 1967, the day we moved into our apartment. Here is a photo of the front of the apartment building. You can see some of "215" in the upper left corner. The stonework around the stairs appears to still be there as of 2017.
And here is a photo of me standing outside our apartment building on January 7, 1968. This must be the north side of the building. Don't I look stylish in my white button-down shirt, brown pants with wide belt, white socks, and brown sandals or moccasin slippers?
Letter postmarked August 24, 1967 (dated August 23):
Two letters in a row with the zip code. Could this be a trend?
Dear Mother and Mike,
I wrote you a letter Monday morning but I didn't get it mailed until today, Wednesday. I got your letter Monday afternoon, so I thought I would write you another - shorter - letter.
[I guess Mom would like to retract her wisecrack comment in the previous letter about my grandmother not writing because of a broken arm.]
First of all, I'm glad you liked your birthday present. Sorry you didn't get it on time. I really couldn't remember whether you had a jewelry box or not.
David Wayne surely got a kick out of your letter about the "livestock." I have read it over and over to him. I really enjoyed the newspaper clippings and the news about Tommy Webster. Yes, Dave is getting the Belton Journal. I don't think he could get along without it. I really tease Dave about that paper, but secretly I am glad that he feels so close to Belton and the people. I hope David Wayne will feel the same about us and his hometown.
[I don't know what the news was about Tommy Webster, but he was is the same high school graduating class as Mom. According to the 2007 Denton High School alumni directory he was running a pool company in Houston.]
[The Belton Journal! I was wondering if Dad got that while we lived in L. A., and I'm so glad Mom mentioned it in a letter. My sisters and I will always remember Dad coming home from work every day and the first thing he would do after changing clothes was sit down at the kitchen table and read The Belton Journal, his hometown newspaper. I'm pretty sure he was still a subscriber when he died. Mom and us kids would often joke about Dad having a virtual bubble over his head (like the cone of silence on "Get Smart") when he read the Belton Journal, since he often seemed oblivious to what was going on in the house while reading it.]
[For the record, I do not feel the same way about Farmers Branch that my dad felt about Belton. Family, yes. The town, not so much. It's basically Dallas anyway.]
Dave didn't have much to say about your "views on money." Dave is and always will be a "cash" paying man. He _has_ changed some about spending money for entertainment since we got to Los Angeles. Every weekend we spend money, not foolishly, but we have a lot of fun. Dave seems to like seeing things as much as I do and he even gets a kick out of David Wayne's fun. In Texas, our weekend "fun" was Irving, Denton, Sanger, and Belton. My "boys" get along better when we go places together and that is certainly better for me.
[As I have mentioned before, I can imagine Dad being a little tight with the money. And I can see it being a bit of a tug-of-war between him and Mom, since I'm sure Mom wanted to go go go all the time. But it seems like we're getting into the swing of things in Los Angeles now and visiting a lot of places. We'll see if we can keep up that pace.]
[Irving, Denton, Sanger and Belton are mentioned in that paragraph because we spent many weekends visiting family primarily in those cities.]
I knew Daddy went to Alabama. Linda Kay wrote me that, but she didn't mention the car. Also, Adelia wrote and told me that. Dave was surprised that he wanted to take our car, but I wasn't. I had secretly wondered about that when I first heard he was going. Dave said the car would not have held up at all. Thank goodness for Wayne - or Linda's? - foresightedness.
[My grandfather was born and raised in Alabama, and he was the oldest of nine children who lived past infancy. (He also went by the nickname "Alabama," which I think he got while in the Navy during World War 2.) He made frequent trips back home to Alabama since he had lots of family still there, and it sounds like some scheming was involved with regard to his transportation for this particular trip. He was always scheming something, as anybody who knew him will tell you. (Adelia was his second wife. They lived in Sanger, TX at the time.)]
It's alright about not going to our house. Patsy keeps an eye on things and sends all the mail except magazines. If we do have any Reader's Digest though send them to us. I will be glad to pay the 10 cent postage due for them, because Dave enjoys them so much.
I was hurt that you didn't mention coming to visit. We will be terribly upset if you cannot come. David Wayne precedes every sentence with, "When Nana comes . . ." He told me this morning to tell you to get a bathing suit and we could go to the beach.
[Mom's really laying the guilt trip on Nana now, isn't she?]
I finally got brave enough to drive to the beach yesterday. It wasn't so bad after all - no monsters ate me up! David Wayne had a wonderful time. He made caves and castles with the sand. He even went into the ocean by himself - not very far. I was scared, but also glad that he showed such independence. I kept my eye on him constantly and only chewed the fingernails off _one_ hand. He has gotten very shy - even more than he was - in this big, strange, city. I understand why, but I am trying to get him out of it without just pushing him away from me. I want him to grow up to be a man, and not always hanging on to my skirt tail. By the way, I really saw some sights at the beach! My husband will never get to go with us, I'll tell you that. The scant covering doesn't leave much to the imagination. If we ever do go he won't be able to find his glasses.
[Interesting comment about me being shy. I always thought I was a little hellion as a young child, but maybe I was still shy around strangers.]
I don't know what to tell you about the fever. I don't have it every day now, and according to the thermometer it isn't even over one hundred. I will watch it closely. It probably has something to do with that cyst.
[It might be a tumor.]
I know what you meant about books that call a spade a spade. I have run into several. It seems to me that authors just see how many bad, dirty words they can get on one page and how many obscene "word pictures" they can get in each chapter. I've read only one book that was nice and that was an old one, "Leave Her to Heaven." I'm hooked on Kyle Onstott books now - "Mandingo," "Drum," "Master of Falcon-hurst," and "The Mustee." All have some of the same characters and they take place in Alabama during slavery time. They _are_ dirty, but how could they be about slavery and not be? I also bought "The Honey Badger." I really enjoy having time to read.
["The Mustee" was actually written by Lance Horner, who co-wrote "Falconhurst Fancy" with Kyle Onstott.]
[If you didn't at least smile when you saw that Mom bought "The Honey Badger," then you don't spend enough time on the internet.]
Well, it seems this letter was longer than I expected it to be. I have finished washing clothes so I guess I will cook my green beans for supper now. Write soon.
Love,Linda
Diary entry for August 24, 1967:
Drove to Penney's and bought presents for Wayne and Tracey. David Wayne and I ate lunch at a Woolworth 5 cent and 10 cent store. Then we spent rest of day at the zoo. We really enjoyed the reptile house. It was very hot.
The people Mom was buying presents for were her older brother Wayne and my only cousin at the time, Tracey, who is on my father's side of the family. They both had birthdays coming up.
I suppose a close equivalent of the nickel and dime stores from the 60s and 70s is the dollar stores we have now.
Hopefully we'll hear more about our trip to the zoo. I really liked reptiles, didn't I?
Letter postmarked August 23, 1967 (dated August 21, 1967):
Mom did not forget the zip code when she addressed this letter.
"Dear Mother and Mike,
"Hope this letter finds your broken arm healing. I know it must be broken, because I "pined away" all last week for lack of a letter."
[Oh, snap! Mom's getting a little sassy about the lack of mail from back home.]
"We had a wonderful weekend. I wish both of you could have been with us. Friday night we stayed home and David Wayne was miserable. I must start going places during the week with him. It's too much for him staying in all week with no one to play with."
[Yes, please entertain me. I'm five. I already memorized that reptile book on the drive from Texas, and you won't let me read "Mandingo."]
"Saturday afternoon we went to Marineland. It is one of the most interesting places we've been. There are three levels and each one is an adventure. On each level in the center is a circular tank filled with all sorts of fish - small, big, gigantic. We even got to see underwater divers (David Wayne called them frogmen) feed the fish and _big_ turtles. We saw a whale show - with "Bubbles" the whale and other personalities. They were really well-trained and would do the tricks perfectly - even splashing the first three rows of spectators. It was so hot that Dave and I wished we had been closer. We did get a good spray of water as we were leaving. The whales seem to be reluctant to end the show and they keep jumping up and bowing as you leave."
"The next event was the trained seal and porpoise (or dolphin) show. The seals were terribly funny - ringing bells, one made a political speech over a microphone, and playing games. I think Dave laughed more than David Wayne. The dolphins were very good, but they refused (The M. C. said they were temperamental) to do the final grand finale act. I took a whole roll of films, but I think I was too far away to get any really good shots."
[No real surprises there with the description of Marineland, especially if you have ever been to Sea World.]
"After the shows we just walked around and saw the smaller tanks. There was an otter tank, seal tank, walrus tank, whale tank and dolphin tank. Most of the tanks were fixed for underwater viewing also. David Wayne really liked this and I think he learned much - such as the dolphins and whales talk through the holes on top of their head, not through their mouths."
"We really got our money's worth for all we saw. It cost $2.50 each for me and Dave and David Wayne got in free. Outside of the aquariums were the gift shops, restaurant, motel and snack bars. We rode in the Sky Tower 344 feet above sea level. On the way up the car turned around several times so we saw everything for miles and miles. This was also well worth the $1.25 that it cost. ($1.25 for all 3 of us, not apiece.)"
[Below is a scan of our Marineland tickets from that day. I scanned the back of my ticket for the Sky Tower so you could see the cute dolphin that's on the back of all the tickets.]
[The Sky Tower was really only 244 feet above sea level, not 344. Mom was always prone to exaggeration, but I think this was just an honest mistake. She understated the cost of the adult tickets to Marineland, so I guess it all evens out.]
"Then Dave really surprised me by announcing that we were going to take a one-hour boat ride along the coast. We had a near catastrophe about this adventure. Dave went to get the tickets and David Wayne and I were to meet him. While we waited, we went through shops, bought cotton candy, and just relaxed. About ten minutes before the boat was to leave, David Wayne had to go to bathroom. No problem - the restrooms were close by, so we walked over. I sent David Wayne into "MEN" while I held cotton candy. Suddenly, David Wayne came out crying - they were pay toilets, we didn't have a nickel, and he didn't know how to work them anyway! I didn't really feel like stalking the gents going in and pleading for their assistance, so the only course, much to David Wayne's chagrin, was to go in "WOMEN." This finally accomplished, we ran - yes, ran - to our destination. My shoelaces were untied and David Wayne lost half his cotton candy in the wind we stirred up. We did make it, by hailing down the bus that took us to the dock. No one was mad because of the delay as David Wayne announced in his loudest voice, "Please don't be mad Daddy. We didn't have a nickel for the commode!" Daddy was the one that wanted to run then."
[Apparently I wasn't very shy at that age. I wonder if the toilets in the women's restroom were pay toilets, since Mom said she didn't have a nickel.
[The first pay toilet in the US was installed in 1910. In 1970, 19-year-old Ira Gessel founded The Committee to End Pay Toilets in America. Their slogan was "When a man's or woman's natural body functions are restricted because he or she doesn't have a piece of change, there is no true freedom." Very profound, don't you think? The committee disbanded in 1976 due to their significant, although not 100%, success.]
"The boat ride was really great. We even saw the cave where recently a Batman story had been filmed. David Wayne got very cold at the last and a guide gave him a blanket. He thought he was very important as he was the only one on the boat that got one."
[I still tend to get cold before most other people.]
[The Batman story Mom is referring to was very likely "Batman: The Movie," released in 1966, in which Penguin and some other villains operate out of a submarine while plotting world domination until Batman and Robin track them in their Batboat and use Batcharge missiles to force the submarine to surface. The original Batman TV series is one of the first shows I remember watching.]
[Below is a scan of our boat ride tickets from that day. In case you're wondering what "Frontier 4-2013" is, it's a phone number. Weird, huh?]
"Sunday we went to Little Tokyo. All week had been the Nisei Festival and the climaxing parade was to be at 5:30. The three of us and 25,000 other people crowded into an area of about three blocks. We had a good place to see, but we were anything but comfortable. The parade itself was the best I've ever seen because it was so different and colorful. I am enclosing an article about it. Please save it for me because I am beginning a scrapbook about our trip. Needless to say, David Wayne loved it. I took color pictures, but again they may not be any good - the sun wasn't right."
[Nope, no pictures. Only Polaroids that must have been taken later.]
[Did my grandmother save the article Mom sent her about the parade? Of course she did. Below is a scan of the article, minus the much larger picture of the Royal Float.]
"Dave and I are proud of ourselves because of a project we have begun. Instead of spending a lot of money on useless souvenirs for David Wayne, we have begun a bank collection. An alligator from Alligator Farm, a whale from Marineland, and a Japanese woman from Little Tokyo. We are going to try to get him a bank from every place we go."
[Ok, here we have the first mention of the bank collection I talked about earlier. Right now we are at three banks. If I ever finish unpacking from our recent move I'll be able to take pictures of the ones I still have.]
"This week we plan to go to the Griffith Park Observatory, and take a "trip to the moon." No, not with the help of LSD, but I hear that's one way to go. This next weekend we may go to Jungleland which is the home of movie and TV stars (animal stars that is.) We don't know yet what else we will do, but we certainly haven't run out of anything to do."
[Well, I wasn't expecting to hear my mother talk about LSD. Although she and my dad both smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol (mostly beer), I'd be surprised to hear about either one of them doing any "experimentation" in their younger days.]
"I am anxious to hear your plans about visiting. We want you to come anytime you can, but you might consider not coming over Labor Day weekend. Firstly, it might be real bad at the airport. Secondly, the men told David that it was impossible to go any place because of traffic and crowds. After Labor Day, the crowds thin out and you can see more and get more places. Dave does have three days off then, but it might take that long just to get to Disneyland in Labor Day traffic."
[I think Mom was a little more than anxious about my grandmother planning a visit, since she has mentioned it in every letter so far. (Spoiler Alert: She mentions it in the next letter, too.)]
"I will close another "catalog." David Wayne is up and throwing a fit to go to beach. (I promised this once while in a weaker mood.) I would just as soon take a dose of castor oil than mingle with the "beach crowd." Take care of yourself and write soon. Give Taffy an extra pat from each of us."
[That's too bad the crowds kept Mom from enjoying the beach more. I know she enjoyed swimming and was definitely the outdoorsy type.]
"Love,
Linda"
"P. S. - There is a sign on California highways that reads, "Now leaving California - resume normal morality." We will try to behave though."
