October 30, 1967: Dirty hippie turtle

Letter postmarked (and dated) October 30, 1967:

The CCZCC takes the first step toward a potential new record. It now stands at 1.

Unlike all the previous letters, which were written in ink on letter-sized paper (8.5" x 11"), this letter was written in pencil on some 8.5" x 5.5" stationary.

Dear Mother and Mike,

I got tired of writing in pen so that's why this is in pencil. I really don't have much to tell you today.

[Pen vs. pencil mystery is solved. We still don't know why there was a sudden change in paper size, though.]

We stayed at home Saturday much to my disgust. I guess Dave was just tired. Also, it could have been that we didn't have much money. Since I've been doing the Christmas shopping, Dave's been giving me extra money.

[Let's hope this potential money issue doesn't impact MY Christmas too much.]

Sunday I talked Dave into taking me to Fisherman's Wharf - believe me we should have stayed at home. It was dirty, it stunk like dead fish, and there were only low, low class of people there. We didn't tarry there long. We did take a boat ride out in the ocean which was nice.

[I'm on a boat! I'm on a boat!]

[I don't look too thrilled about it, though. I don't know if I'm getting seasick or giving Dad a death stare for some reason.]

We also went in one store and bought David Wayne a starfish and a turtle bank.

[I had that starfish for many many years in my room. It was yellowish-brown, with about a six inch wingspan. I don't think I have it now, and I'm not sure if it even survived the Great Purge when I moved out of the house to go to college. But I do still have the turtle bank. Here are two pictures of it, both with the obligatory quarter for scale. This one is glazed ceramic, with no chips or cracks that I can find. There is nothing identifying it as coming from Fisherman's Wharf, but there is a bit of adhesive on one side that looks like a sticker or label may have been there at one time.]

[That second photo is not from the top. Mr. Turtle is actually doing a three-point stand while balancing a quarter on his head. Impressive, eh?]

We saw two hippie couples on motorcycles cut in front of this man and get a parking place he was trying for. Naturally, it made the man mad and he said something to them. They walked over to their vehicles, took the tire chains off and started following the man and his family (including four little kids). I don't know what the outcome was, but I hope the people got away. It just made me and Dave sick and we got out of there quickly!

[That is another story Mom often told about our time in Los Angeles, and that's pretty much how she told it, too. Mom and Dad were really scared when they saw that. Thankfully I don't have any memory of it.]

The Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco is a delightful place and I never dreamed that this one would not be just as good. Oh, I wish we were home - safe and far away from all these kooks!

[Culture shock has not worn off yet. I don't know how Mom knew about Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco since she hasn't mentioned it in any letters so far. There are some pictures in the photo album that specifically say they were from Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, so maybe that will be mentioned in an upcoming letter.]

Halloween is tomorrow night and David Wayne is beside himself with excitement. I'm only going to take him trick or treating at a few apartments in this building. (I even asked these people if it would be alright.) Then we are going to the Hansen's (people Dave works with) and the Sivell's. I hope it won't be a let-down to him, but I just don't feel safe going to strange doors in this town.

[Well that stinks. Don't be such a worry wart, Mom. I neeeeeeed candy!]

It wouldn't be any better in Carrollton though. Patsy wrote me that people there had been warned to keep the kiddies home because some people were giving candy with LSD on it to kids. David Wayne cried when I told him Roger and Steve couldn't go out on Halloween. I had to promise him that next year if it happened, we would just have a party for the neighbors.

[Oh, good grief. It's amazing the scare stories about tainted Halloween candy that go around almost every year. When I was growing up it was razor blades in apples. I read an article years ago about a group that actually searched newspaper articles over many decades for stories about Halloween candy that was intentionally modified to harm children, and they pretty much came up empty. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."]

We got that big turtle Friday night. We (David Wayne, that is) named him Mickey Mud Turtle. I went to Farmer's Market on Friday and at a pet shop I bought a big fish bowl to keep the turtle in. Snappy stays out of his shell all the time and he loves for us to talk to him. This new turtle isn't very friendly yet - in fact he spits at us if we get close to him. I'm not too fond of it, but the boys love it. From the reptile book you bought we found out it is a slider.

[Well heck yeah, who wouldn't like to have a big spitting turtle to play with?]

I bought Tracey a cute little Indian dress at Farmer's Market. All the shopping I need to do now is Wayne, Judy, and the Jennings. I got a beautiful glass piano for Aunt Osie and a set of glass swans for Aunt Mary. I wish I could go ahead and get all these things mailed.

[Aunt Osie and Aunt Mary were Dad's aunts.]

Dave is on a diet and has lost some weight - not enough, he still looks pregnant. I still haven't felt the baby moving and the doctor says I should - that has me worried. Other than that, I feel great.

Well, I said news was short and it is. Write soon.

Love,

Linda

P. S. - I bought David Wayne a Batmobile that shoots rockets. It is the same size as the matchbox cars and I imagine it will be a big hit on Christmas!

[A Batmobile that shoots rockets? This is going to be the best Christmas ever!]

Letter postmarked (and dated) October 27, 1967: Late night shots

Letter postmarked (and dated) October 27, 1967:

The CCZCC remains at zero due to an incorrect zip code on this envelope.

Dear Mother and Mike,

It was really good to get a letter from you yesterday. I had told Dave that morning that nobody loved us any more. Mrs. Jennings has been pretty busy with her job, also, and hasn't had time to write either.

As for flying home Christmas - impossible. Dave only gets Tuesday off from work. I didn't even know that until last night. Dave never tells me any bad news unless he just has to. Of course, he said David Wayne and I could go without him, but I don't think that's a good idea, do you? Our place is with him - especially since he feels so guilty about us not being home for Christmas.

[More evidence that our not being back in Texas for Christmas came as a big shock to my parents.]

Don't worry about sending me and Dave any Christmas presents. We know how much trouble mailing packages is - too much for a working Mama! Dave, laughingly, told me to write you that he wears a size 32 in underwear. Seriously, the only thing he could or does need is a sweater (button in front type) to wear at night. He left his in Carrollton. I guess he would wear about a 38-40 size, whatever that means. I could use a maternity slip (size 34?) If time runs short on you, just wait until we get home (what a sweet word!) and we can celebrate then - Christmas in February, March, April? David Wayne would love the service station. He has the following cars: cattle truck (#37), ice cream truck (#47), car transportation set (#G-2). He would love to have the greyhound bus from Knucklehead - he still talks about Mike riding one. And I bet Wayne would love to pick out some of the antique Matchbox cars for him. The only trouble with that is that he would play with them so much, Linda Kay would have to sneak them away from him to get them mailed. The antique cars are more expensive than the others, too.

Personally, I'm having a ball shopping for all of you out here. I'm trying to get everyone something from California - different like. I really enjoy picking out things for people - it's just that when I get home I get depressed, knowing I won't be there to see you open them up. Next week I'm going to Knott's to see if I can find anything for Wayne. That should be fun. I'm going to try and get matching kimonos for Judy and Tracey.

[Mom did enjoy watching people open their Christmas gifts, that's for sure.]

I got the food warmer for Linda and Wayne's baby. I will mail it today. If she already has one it won't be any problem. She can keep it there for our baby and I'll send her my green stamps to get what she needs. No problem at all with two babies on the way - right?

[Ah yes, S & H Green Stamps. I vividly remember my mother and especially my grandmother accumulating those in books. I liked how there were different denominations of green stamps (like coins), such that you had to use a little math to fill up a page in the book correctly. Here's a link to the Wikipedia article for you youngsters or citizens of the future: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26H_Green_Stamps]

Speaking of babies, I went to the doctor yesterday. I had gained half a pound in over two weeks - good, eh? I had eaten pizza the night before, too. My blood test is fine - said he would give me some iron pills later maybe. He had me get some vitamin pills with calcium because he said some "damn dentist will blame me for cavities later on if I don't." I asked him about traveling in case we have to go home during the 7th or 8th month and he said it would be okay - just don't drive several hours at a stretch without stopping and stretching my legs. He said that the "no riding in a car" was just for some patients who got sick easily. He told me that I could go anywhere I wanted to go. The real blow was when I said I might have the baby here and he told me he wouldn't be the one to deliver it if that happened. It seems that he must have heart trouble or something and he can't do any night work so he cut out delivering babies. He said that a young doctor - a specialist in that field - does that for him. And I won't even repeat the price he quoted me. That's some bad news I'll save for Dave - two can play that game. I'll tell you this much - for the price he told me I could have twins by caesarian section and complete blood transfusion in Texas!

[It sounds like we're still unsure as to where this baby's going to be born. We'll see if Dad gets his way and Mom is back home to Texas in time to avoid having a foreigner in the family.]

I wish you could have seen David Wayne getting his flu shot. He was really a little man about it. He walked right in and rolled up his shirt sleeve for the nurse. Everyone in the office just died laughing at him because when the nurse finished David Wayne said, "Ha ha! I'm through with my shots and Daddy still has to get one." The nurse went through her purse and gave him a toy because she said he was her favorite patient and the bravest little boy she knew. Even the doctor comments on how well-behaved he is and he talks to David Wayne more than he does to me. It seems that when other children come in the office, the nurse spends all her time keeping the medicine away from the kids. From what I've seen of the way parents control their kids - Jungleland, etc. - I would hate to teach here.

Speaking of Jungleland . . . I read in the paper this morning that the president or owner of that place got his foot snatched off by one of the lions. He had put his foot close to one of the cages to tie his shoe and the lion's paw went through a bar and just clawed his foot off and part of his leg, too. He was showing the animals to prospective customers - bet he didn't make a sale that day.

[Wow, Jungleland really did have some serious safety issues, didn't it?]

I laughed about you and Fran at the show. I still haven't seen that show. I thought David Wayne and I could go to see it here, but I found out from Barbara Hansen that decent people just don't go to the show in the afternoons here - that's when the sex perverts, hippies, and nuts go. It would be kind of dangerous - especially a woman and a little boy. We are going to Grauman's Chinese Theater (it is expensive enough to be safe) to see "Jungle Book." This afternoon would be a good time to go, too, since our neighbors upstairs are still hammering and banging furniture. They are driving me nuts, they're so loud.

[Fran was my grandmother's longtime friend Fran Dolcater (sp?). She would sometimes visit my grandmother when we were up there visiting. All I remember about Fran was that she smoked cigarettes non-stop, which filled up my grandmother's tiny living room with smoke. I guess my grandmother just learned to tolerate that since she didn't smoke.]

["The Jungle Book" was released on October 18, 1967, and I do vaguely recall going to see it when we lived in Los Angeles. I recall being a little confused about how they got all those elephants in the building. I guess when I was watching shows on TV I knew it wasn't real because we were in our apartment, looking at a box in the room. But when we went somewhere else (a movie theater in this case), that line between reality and fiction became a little blurry.]

I'm sorry Mike's grades aren't better. (Dave thought they were great and he couldn't understand why we were upset.) I know Mike could make better, but I also know that at his age you couldn't tell him anything. I hate to see him out so late at night - I know he's behaving, but it just doesn't look good and it isn't good for his health. I sound like an old mother hen, don't I?

[Uncle Mike's late nights out while in high school were simply training for his future life as a musician. I'll withhold comment on whether or not he was behaving.]

David Wayne laughed about not being able to get Mike out of bed. He said he could have gotten him up - and I bet he could, too. Just out of the clear blue sky this morning, David Wayne said, "You know, that was good of Nana to spend all that money on buying me things when she was here. Anything I wanted and you two wouldn't buy me, she got it for me." He's pretty observant.

[Grandmothers are awesome, aren't they?]

Thanks for the cake recipe. It got here just in time for Dave's diet. I better wait awhile before I cook it.

[This was my grandmother's infamous chocolate cake recipe Mom requested in the letter postmarked October 6, 1967.]

I will close for now. If the smog clears up, I may go to Farmer's Market and then the show. Probably, I'll just stay home and listen to the people upstairs.

Love,

Linda

October 25, 1967: Space for Christmas

Letter postmarked October 25, 1967:

The CCZCC, which set a record of 11 in the last letter, is reset to zero again due to the omission of the zip code on this envelope. Sadness. :-(

For some reason Mom printed this letter instead of writing it in cursive like all the previous letters.

Dear Mother and Mike,

The letter I wrote you Monday hasn't been mailed yet, but I thought I would write again and bring you up to date. As you know from the other letter, I went to Olvera Street on Monday. I tried to buy another, larger turtle for David Wayne and Dave, but they didn't have a bowl large enough to keep one in. I don't know which one of the Davids was more disappointed.

Tuesday I drove to Santa Monica beach to a Penney's store. Here's what I got David Wayne for Christmas: A Johnny Lunar space set (as advertised on TV), a Slap Trap game (also on TV), a circus train, and two pairs of Disneyland pajamas. I had already gotten him a Build-a-Road for his Matchbox cars. Dave has me thoroughly confused - First he says, "Now don't get too much for David Wayne because we'll have to transport everything back to Texas." Then every time he sees a toy on TV or hears David Wayne talk about some toy, he says, "Why don't you get that, too?"

[Since Mom bought all those items on a Tuesday, I wonder if I was with her, and if I was, how did she manage to keep me distracted while she made those purchase? Very impressive.]

[Here's a commercial for the Johnny Astro toy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmLMrMdIy5c. Remember, this was 21 months before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, so toys related to space exploration were quite popular.]

[And here is a link to a web site with tons of information about Johnny Astro: http://www.johnnyastro.com/johnnymain.htm]

[I'll have more to say about Johnny Astro when Christmas rolls around.]

David Wayne showed especial attention to the Tricky Tommy Turtle, but it costs $9 and I think it would be pretty expensive to mail. He also got excited over a Major Matt Mason set (some kind of weird looking contraption that supposedly walks on the moon).

[Here's a commercial for Major Matt Mason from 1966, which pales in comparison to the 1968 commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q98uWOPGEAM]

[Here's a web site with tons of information on the Major Matt Mason toy, including the 1968 commercial with awesome narration, which I have transcribed below: https://vintageactionfigures.com/major-matt-mason-the-man-in-space.html]

Meet Major Matt Mason, Mattel's man in space
And the bravest astronaut yet
He lives on the moon (we may all be there soon)
And he gets around with a jet

Until Sergeant Storm with his red uniform
Major Matt worked all alone
Now together they face the dangers of space
And seek to learn the unknown

The machines that they drive seem almost alive
As they transport the adventurous pair
The new Astro-Trak whips through the black
And Firebolt even goes where

They meet Captain Lazer, his space gear ablaze
With energy stored from the stars
He's a giant, it's true, but a friendly one who
Spent his boyhood on Mars

An exciting place, the world of space
As all the astronauts know
This world is swell, it's made by Mattel
With it, how far can you go?

By the way, remember those beautiful glass figures on Olvera Street? Well, they wrap and mail those for you at one of the stores. I have decided that's what I'm going to get Dave's aunts. If you are interested I could mail some to your friends for you. You can get really nice things for just about any price. I bought David Wayne a grab bag for 39 cents and he got a pretty glass cat that sells for 60 cents. I tried to get him to send the cat to Linda Kay, but he won't part with it.

[Sorry about that, Aunt Linda. If I still had that glass cat I would send it to you.]

You know what David Wayne really wants for Christmas? To see Knucklehead! I wish we were rich and could fly Mike out here for a few days. That would mean more to David Wayne than all the toys in the stores. He really misses Mike.

[Uncle Mike is just twelve years older than me. After Mom got divorced from her first husband she and I lived in a rental house on my grandmother's property in Denton until Mom and Dad got married in 1966, right after I turned four. Since Uncle Mike and I hung out a lot during that time, he was sort of like a big brother to me during my toddler years. I was six years old when he got married, and when he drove away from their wedding reception with everyone waving goodbye I cried because I thought I'd never see him again.]

Dave plays with him a lot at night though and that helps. Last night they played like Dave was a bucking horse. This morning Dave's knees had no skin on them and he was having a little difficulty bending them. Poor Daddy!

[Having played the part of the horse in the bucking bronco game many times myself, I can vouch for the fact that knee protection is essential.]

We got some new neighbors yesterday - in the apartment right above ours. They must wear army boots and I'm sure they must be changing the location of the kitchen, from all the hammering and sawing going on. Unfortunately, they don't have any children for David Wayne to play with.

[Loud neighbors upstairs - every apartment dweller's dream.]

Last week we had a funny thing happen at the apartment. I had gone somewhere that day so I only got to see the last part. A lady in #6 celebrated her 84th birthday. It seems that the owner's wife, Mrs. Lerner (at least 60) and Mrs. Sabo (the manager that you met) went to wish her a happy birthday. These three old ladies spent the entire afternoon gossiping and drinking cocktails. I came just as the party was breaking up and I never got such a laugh in my life. They had really had a _good_ time!

Well, I will close for now. I've already washed the clothes and gone to the post office this morning. Now all that is left for me to do is wash my hair, drive clear across town to that Penney's store you and I went to and get a present for Linda Kay's baby, go to the doctor, have the car washed and waxed, and clean the apartment. I think I'll take a nap instead.

[That sounds just like something I would say today.]

Love,
Linda

P. S. - I'm going to send Wayne a toy for Christmas since he won't have David Wayne's to play with. Don't tell though.

October 24, 1967: I yust go nuts at Christmas

Letter postmarked October 25, 1967 (part 2):

This is Part 2 of the letter Mom wrote on October 23, 1967 that was postmarked October 25.

Today I am going Christmas shopping so remember don't open any packages. I am just a blank on what to get Mike - any suggestions? I want to send everybody something from here, but I can't think of a thing for Mike. What does he need or want in the way of clothes?

For David Wayne you might get him some more of those Matchbox cars. I have already bought him a "Build A Road" set that is made for Matchbox cars. There is a service station set and a fire house set that he would enjoy. Everything else that he talks about is advertised on TV - "Tricky Tommy Turtle," "Incredible Edibles," "Mattel's Fright Factory," etc. - and all the toys on TV are pretty expensive. He told the Santa Claus at Santa's Village he wanted a Slap Trap game so I know I will get him that.

[Some of these toys I don't recall at all, which means I probably didn't get everything I wanted for Christmas. Isn't that sad? But thanks to the interwebs we can find some information on all of these toys, including, in most cases, the TV commercials that convinced five-year-old me I wanted them for Christmas. First, here's the link to a commercial for Tricky Tommy Turtle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLGiI_ltQRE]

Tricky Tommy Turtle goes
When your magic whistle blows
He wobbles along, clippity clop
Blow the whistle. He stops!

[With such a catchy jingle and amazing technology, it's no wonder I wanted one of those.]

[Here is a link to a great video from a guy who found a complete Incredible Edibles set in almost mint condition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd_NFpQ62JQ. He and his brother had a set when they were young, and he agrees with most other online comments I read that everything tasted pretty awful.]

[Here's a web page with a lot of information on Mattell's Fright Factory, including advertisements, the instructions, and a commercial: http://collectingclassicmonsters.com/monster-toys/vintage-advertising-mattel-fright-factory-toy/]

[And finally, here is a commercial for the Slap Trap game, with its own catchy non-rhyming jingle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWOXd8C2Pvk]

[Christmas Day might be a bit of a letdown with all these spoilers from Mom.]

Right now we are getting ready for a big Halloween. In our front window we have a skull and an owl. When the windows are open we even put our three-foot pinata witch up and a pumpkin. Halloween night we are going to go to a few apartments in this building, then go to the Hensen's (people Dave works with), and finally to the Sivells - that old, old couple. It should be quite a night!

[That's pretty neat that my parents put a little effort into Halloween, even though we lived in an apartment and they only had a five-year-old. Also, note that the Sivells are not just an old couple, they are an old, old couple.]

Last week we had some good news. Another Texas examiner, Gene Dirr, and his wife are going to be in Los Angeles on November 3. The company Gene will be on is very close to us and we hope that they will rent an apartment at our place - or at least real close. I have never met the girl, but she is a school teacher and probably we will be good company. I have been lonesome without anyone to gossip with and I'm looking forward to seeing them.

[It sounds like Mom is really looking forward to having someone she can spend some time with. We'll see how that pans out.]

Well, I'm getting anxious for Linda Kay to have my niece or nephew. I still keep wondering how _I'm_ going to get the news quickly - say like five minutes after the doctor knows! If Linda and Wayne could be around David Wayne right now, they would decide, like we have, not to teach their child how to talk. David Wayne asked me yesterday, "Why isn't the world on anything?" Last week it was, "Mommie, why don't fish get sea sick?" I am losing my mind and when I answer him, I sound like a preacher at a revival - ". . . because God made it that way." At Jungleland yesterday, he asked me the name of some animal and before I had time to answer he said, "Never mind, I'll ask Daddy. He knows everything and you don't know anything." This is great for Dave's ego, but mine has been smashed.

[Wow, I asked some really good questions. I especially like "Why isn't the world on anything?" I guess I can't fault Mom for being unable to explain celestial mechanics to a five-year-old. I'm not sure I could do that either, which according to Richard Feynman means I don't really understand it.]

Dave's ego had a lift last night, too, and I am glad. Something woke David Wayne up again (in the middle of the night!) and when he came into our room, he was calling "Daddy" instead of "Mommie." This just thrilled him - it was the first time David Wayne had ever called for Daddy when he was hurt or scared. Dave was still beaming about it this morning.

[Awwww, that's pretty darn sweet.]

Well, I will close this journal now. David Wayne is still sleeping, but he should be awake soon and then I won't be able to think. Mike, you are always referred to as Knucklehead by David Wayne and we can't break him of it. Really it is a compliment as this Knucklehead is a favorite puppet of David Wayne's. So Mother, take care of Knucklehead.

Love,

Linda

P. S. - Thanks for the info on Leon Taliaferro. I will relay this to Mr. Sivell as soon as we see them.

P. P. S. - I just mailed your Christmas present - don't open!

Also am enclosing catalog from Nut Shop.

[Leon Taliaferro is still a mystery to me. Maybe I'll find him among the genealogy stuff my grandmother had.]

[The catalog Mom sent was from a place called The Magic Nut and Candy Kitchens. The business was one of the original tenants in the Los Angeles Farmer's Market in 1949, and according to their web site (www.themagicnut.com) they still have the same two stalls there. They seem to focus on a wide variety of nuts and candies, offering various gift packages and sample platters.]

[Here are scans of the front and the first page of the catalog, which is about 4" x 9" when closed. (Note that "Epicurean" is misspelled.)]

[The catalog has a little over 20 pages, most of which are descriptions and prices of the various gift packs and nut selections they offered. You could also send as a gift a 3- 6- or 12-month membership in The Magic Nut of the Month Club. For a little under $4 per month the lucky recipient would receive one pound of a different type of nut, nut mix, or candy.]

[Another page of the catalog has a picture of a grandmotherly figure hand-dipping something in chocolate.]

[(Yes, that picture should remind you of the episode of I Love Lucy where Lucy and Ethel go to work at the chocolate factory.) Below that is a statement about automation not yet being used in the Magic Nut Kitchens and they doubt it ever will. I wonder if they use any automation now, 50 years later?]

October 23, 1967: Football goats

Letter postmarked October 25, 1967 (part 1):

The CCZCC extends its record-breaking streak to 11. (Nigel Tufnel is pleased.)

(In a future letter we'll find out this letter was written October 23, which is part of the reason I'm posting it now.)

Dear Mother and Mike, 

I hope you both had a fine weekend and that you are still enjoying nice weather in Texas. We are still suffering from smog and you can't imagine how we pine for just an old-fashioned Texas Norther or hail storm or any other kind of "sensible" weather. 

Saturday we stayed home because of a football game - Texas vs. ? Anyway it was important to Dave and since this is the only game he has watched this season, I really didn't mind - besides his team won! After the game he cooked steaks outside - I hope it wasn't a Jewish holiday. The first time we cooked out it was Yom Kippur, a day that Jewish people are fasting. We got some pretty dirty looks that day.

[Cultural sensitivity training has begun.]

[At first I assumed the football game Dad watched that day would have been Texas vs. Oklahoma. But the game played on October 21, 1967 was Texas vs. Arkansas, which, according to Wikipedia, was televised on ABC. Texas won 21 to 12.]

Sunday we went to Jungleland again. We didn't plan on ever going to that place again, but we wanted to take pictures. We especially wanted to get a picture of David Wayne riding the elephant and the big tortoise, but we missed the elephants (they had just put them up) and some big kids had been teasing the tortoise so that he crawled into his home and wouldn't budge (I didn't blame him either.) These same mean kids got the llama stirred up - they would spit at him and he, naturally, would spit back. Thank goodness we saw all this and when I took his picture I stood a great distance back. Another poor unsuspecting woman walked up to the llama and pet it and got a face full of spittle - poor woman! These mean kids were not orphans either - their stupid parents were sitting right there on benches, watching these kids upset all the animals.

[Now we know the pictures of Jungleland I posted previously were probably taken on October 22, 1967.]

We did see some of the smallest baby goats and I think they must have been only a day or two old. They were adorable. We saw a different show this time. Instead of trained lions we saw trained tigers and the world's only woman tiger trainer. She was an old woman and just as funny as you could imagine any old woman with a cage full of tigers as being.

[You want pictures of cute baby goats? Ok, here you go. Here's a picture of me holding a baby goat who appears to be trying to escape.]

[I'm not upset in this picture. Mom's caption is, "It must have been the sun in his eyes because he really liked the little goat."]

[And here's a picture of Dad holding a goat, with me standing next to him trying to shield my eyes from the sunlight.]

[And here's a picture of Mom holding a baby goat, with me standing next to her trying to shield my eyes from the sunlight. (Side note: My four-year-old grandson was also shielding his eyes from the sunlight during some outdoor picture-taking exactly fifty years later, to the day.)]

[Hey, are those my mouse shoes I'm wearing?]

[Yes. I am indeed wearing my mouse shoes to Jungleland. Squeak squeak.]

This is a good point to end Part 1 of this letter. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow.

October 19, 1967: Creepy visitor

Letter postmarked October 18, 1967:

The CCZCC now stands at 10. Double digits!

This letter is being posted one day after the date of the postmark because the October 17 letter was split into two posts.

Dear Mother and Mike

This may not be legible - I have written three letters already this morning and I'm lying in bed and I've got Kleenex in both hands. No, I don't have a cold - I'm just trying to filter the air as I take it into my lungs. Coming from a family of breathers I find it hard to exist in this climate. I think within a few years the population in Los Angeles will have gills instead of the regular breathing apparatus. Either that or they shall all surely suffocate. The smog really isn't too bad now - by that I mean you can see "Mr. Sun" peeping through, but we are due for another siege on Thursday.

[That ongoing smog problem sounds awful. Reading Mom's firsthand account of her difficulties dealing with it has given me a little more appreciation for the tighter restrictions on things like automobile emissions in California.]

[The handwriting in this letter is definitely different than the handwriting in previous letters. The most noticeable thing to me is the lack of a slant in this letter. I have scanned in samples of this letter and the previous one so you can see for yourselves.]

Handwriting sample from letter postmarked October 17, 1967.

Handwriting sample from letter postmarked October 18, 1967.

Of course, we could go to the mountains again like we did last Saturday, but then we might be called upon to fight the forest fires that are surrounding us. They (the police) have arrested several known "fire setters" this week and I wonder if our little handyman will show up for work today. (That's another reason my hands are sorta shaky, I suppose. I get just a teeny bit nervous on Wednesdays.)

[Forest fires in California. Imagine that. (Those of you reading this way in the future can google "2017 California forest fires.")]

David Wayne said for me to tell Nana that Mike is a Knucklehead. He really misses his Uncle Mike and is always talking about fighting with him when we get home. So tell Mike he better get in shape - David Wayne is a lot bigger now than when he last saw him. Also, David Wayne keeps in practice by fighting with Dave. They are constantly rolling around on the floor and I wonder how many lamps we will have to replace.

Dave and I have something in common with the Johnsons. We also have a child that makes visits during the night. It's a little eerie to wake up and find someone standing by your bed, but it is better than him getting out the door and chasing him down the street. You should tease Dave in your next letter about our having the same experience as the "cookoo Byrds."

[I didn't find anything to confirm this, but I suspect the Johnsons Mom is referring to here are President Johnson and his wife Lady Bird Johnson, or perhaps their first daughter Lynda Bird Johnson. That seems like a logical reason for the "cookoo Byrds" comment.]

[I wonder if I ever woke up Mom and Dad yelling "Red Rum!" repeatedly?]

Joan Baez is going to be giving more free concerts for the next ten days - this time to the men in jail where she will be in residence. It seems that she was a ringleader in a big riot on Monday. I think this riot or sit-down or whatever happened in front of an army induction center where they were protesting against the draft system. Anyway, the police drafted her and her mother to jail for ten days. I wish I could go to jail with my mother for a few days - I think our relationship is lacking in some way, don't you?

[Joan Baez gave a free concert for an estimated 30,000 people at the Washington Monument in Washington, DC in August of 1967, to protest the Vietnam War. The arrest Mom is referring to here occurred in Oakland.]

[Fun fact: It was during this jail sentence that Joan Baez met an inmate named David Harris, whom she would marry in March of 1968 and divorce in 1973. She was pregnant with their son Gabriel when she performed at Woodstock in 1969.]

We are busily getting ready for Halloween. David Wayne was driving me nuts asking how many more days, so I made him a calendar and he is marking off each day. The witch pinata we got on Olvera Street is really cute and we have decided not to break it. I don't know how we will get it home but Dave says he'll figure something out.

You just thought you bought the little turtle for David Wayne . . . but Dave is the one who pays the most attention to Snappy. He even talks to it! Sunday, on Olvera Street, they were displaying some turtles that were ten times bigger than Snappy and Dave wanted to buy one. I wouldn't have minded, but I know he would have come straight home and played with it the rest of the day. I imagine we'll get one this weekend. By the way, how is your livestock? Any little hamsters yet? Adelia wrote David Wayne that they were expecting twin goats and that if we had twins she would swap him for one. He thought that was a great idea, naturally.

[Adelia, in case you have forgotten, was my grandfather's second wife. They lived on a farm in Sanger, Texas at the time.]

I will close for now. Please write soon as I have started accusing the postman of losing my mail. You wanna hear something funny? I get so much mail from Mordecais that the postman wished me a "Happy New Year" a couple of weeks ago. I took me a while to figure out that greeting. Another funny thing . . . Dave cooked outside on Yom Kippur (the day of Jewish fasting) and we got some mighty dirty looks that day! I'm afraid we have a lot to learn about living around Jewish people. Maybe we will learn since we're going to be here so long.

[Mordecai is apparently a traditionally Jewish name, but as far as I know you have to go back quite a ways in our family tree to find a Mordecai who was Jewish. Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) in 1967 was on October 5, and Yom Kippur was October 14. So here's some more exposure to other cultures that Mom and Dad were not exposed to very much while growing up in small Texas towns.]

Love,Linda

P. S. - Does Linda Kay have one of those electric baby food warmers? They are something new . . . at least I don't think they had them five years ago. It saves putting water in a pan to heat the jar of food. Anyway, I would like to get one for her, so find out if she has one please.