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
No comments:
Post a Comment