The CCZCC now stands at 8.
Dear Mother and Mike,
Boy, have I been busy! Since we came back from San Francisco, I've been home only two days - the rest of the time I've been goin' and a blowin'! I think I wrote you that on Monday, I went to the stamp store and got Dave an ice crusher. I told him that I didn't know whether he would like his Christmas present or not, but he'd love the thought behind it - it only cost him 49 cents.
[In the December 5 letter Mom had also mentioned going to the stamp store, and I thought she meant going somewhere to purchase postage stamps. But now I realize she was talking about going to an actual S & H Green Stamps store, which was where you could redeem S & H Green Stamps for some or all of the purchase price of discounted items carried at the store. (S & H Green Stamps were previously discussed in the October 27 letter.) So Mom must have saved up enough Green Stamps to cover almost the entire cost of the ice crusher she got Dad for Christmas.]
Tuesday I babysat - Suzie Dirr's dog. The little pup is really cute and smart. David Wayne really enjoyed playing with it. When Suzie came back home from her shopping we visited. Also, Barbara Hansen came over, so I umpired their conversation - as I told you before I can get along with either of them but when they're together I get nervous. Suzie is 22 and Barbara is about 43 - just too big an age difference there.
[I have a feeling it was more than just an age difference that made Suzie and Barbara a little incompatible with each other.]
Wednesday morning I drove Suzie and David Wayne to Knott's. I finished my last bit of shopping while there and I really felt good. I must tell you this, but don't you ever tell my brother Wayne or my husband! Promise? I wrote a check for my new purchases at Knott's, but when I went to show my driver's license I couldn't find them. Then I remembered - they were at our apartment safely tucked inside my checkbook and that's where they've been the whole time I've been driving in Los Angeles!
[I'm a little confused here since Mom would likely have had her checkbook with her if she were writing a check while at Knott's. Maybe she meant her license was in the box of checks at the apartment. In any case, yeah, I bet she didn't go home and brag to Dad about that one.]
Knott's was not crowded at all so we had a good time seeing all the stores and the Christmas decorations. We went on the Coal Mine Ride and Suzie and David Wayne screamed and really had a big time. They also rode the merry-go-round, shooting at all the people. I told Dave that I felt like I had taken two little kids, instead of a kid and one adult. They had a blacksmith working at Knott's and Suzie had never seen that before. She and David Wayne were so interested in what he was doing that the blacksmith gave each of them a horseshoe and put their initials on it. They also had an old woman spinning cloth and several other "old timey" demonstrations.
Now to tell you the big event of the day - I had David Wayne sit still for 40 minutes while a lady painted (chalk rather) his portrait. I figure that that is my Christmas present to myself. It's really a good picture, but it really doesn't look like my son - the mouth is closed and the nose doesn't turn up enough, also the horns are missing. Everyone that has seen it just raves over it. Dave says he knows it isn't David Wayne because he couldn't have sat still that long. But really he did!
[If I could easily get to that portrait right now I'd post a picture of it. Mom was very proud of it and had portraits of both of my sisters done when they were about five years old as well. All three were hanging in her bedroom.]
After leaving Knott's, we stopped off at the Movieland Wax Museum and Palace of Living Art. I didn't particularly care to go, but Suzie wanted to. I wish I had taken you as I think you would have really enjoyed seeing the "old" stars. Suzie had never heard of most of them - alan Ladd, Edward G. Robinson, Gloria Swanson, Hedy Lamar ["It's Hedley!"], etc. Yes, Mother, I knew them and I felt at least 65 years old. Some of the figures really moved and all of them were fixed up from scenes from their famous movies. I had seen most of the pictures (Suzie had seen only one or two) and the others I had heard you talk about.
[Here are scans of the front and part of the inside of the brochure Mom saved from Movieland Wax Museum, and the front of the brochure for Palace of Living Art. Both brochures have lots of detailed information.]
[Movieland Wax Museum and Palace of Living Art was open from 1962 to 2005. It was located at 7711 Beach Boulevard in Buena Park, California, just two blocks north of Knott's Berry Farm. The building was only recently torn down but the iconic sign is still there, as you can see on Google Street View. Thanks to the wayback feature of Google Street View, you can look at older Google Street Views and see the building before it was torn down. (Unfortunately, the Starbucks built in front of it blocks most of the view of the grand entrance.)]
[There is a lot of information to be found online regarding Movieland Wax Museum and Palace of Living Art. It was the largest wax museum in the US, and many of the wax figures were featured in reproductions of the sets of their well-known movies, rather than just standing around in poses. The Palace of Living Art featured full size marble reproductions of many world famous sculptures such as Michelangelo's David (18 feet tall, pictured on the cover of the brochure), and master artist reproductions of famous paintings such as The Last Supper and American Gothic. But instead of just reproductions of famous works of art, many were displayed in settings depicting the artist's studio, with a figure representing the model posing for the painting, such as the model posing for Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. That might account for the incident Mom is about to recount.]
I also liked the wax reproductions of the famous paintings, but there were a few nudes that I rushed David Wayne by. They were very life-like and the men even had hair on their legs, arms, underarms. I whispered to Suzie to notice this but if I would have waited she would have heard David Wayne proclaim in a loud voice, "Look, they've got hair all over them just like Daddy!" Everyone, even the guards, giggled.
[Like most five-year-olds, I didn't always know when to whisper.]
David Wayne spent the day with Suzie on Thursday and she had him make Christmas presents for me and Dave. I thought this was very thoughtful of her and David Wayne got very excited about it. He needed some materials to make the gifts with us so we let him "earn" his money - he washed dishes for me and polished Dave's shoes. This made him feel so big and I think the gifts mean more to all of us because of this - they are completely from him. Also, that day he helped Suzie cook shrimp gumbo and we ate supper with them that night.
Now, for what I did on my "day off" and hold onto your hat. Barbara Hansen took me to lunch at a - - - Playboy Club! I've never had so much fun in my life and I picked up a few souvenirs - that means I picked up everything that I could carry out. The only things I missed were the table we ate off of and the "bunnies." Barbara even bought me a $3 cocktail just so I could get a Playboy mug. Barbara got permission to show me the whole club - VIP room, Penthouse, Playboys Club Room, and I started into a door with a sign, Playboys Lounge, but Barbara informed me that was the men's room. I think Barbara had as much fun as I did because it was so obvious that I was having a wonderful time. After lunch (and cocktails) we went shopping at the most expensive store in Los Angeles. Naturally, neither of us could afford anything, but it was great fun just looking at $100 handkerchiefs and $200 purses.
[$3 in 1967 purchased almost as much as $24 in 2017, so that was an expensive cocktail. $100 purchased about as much as $728 in 2017, so those were stupidly expensive handkerchiefs and purses.]
[I remember seeing a few of those souvenirs from the Playboy Club around the house when I was growing up, including the mug and some swizzle sticks. I also remember wondering how Mom and Dad came to acquire those items after I learned what Playboy Magazine was.]
Friday I stayed home and washed and cleaned. Dave surprised me by coming home early from work - all the men took off early. Gene and Suzie were to be on the Newlywed Game that night and we wanted to go, but we couldn't find anyone to keep David Wayne. They told us the next day all about the show - and believe me, we really missed a performance. It's to be shown this Saturday night, the 16th, so don't miss it. I could never write to you and describe this couple, but if you watch the show you'll know all about them. Let me say this - they have been wonderful to David Wayne and he really has fun with them.
[I guess we'll have to wait for another letter to find out what happened during Gene and Suzie's appearance on the Newlywed Game. This seems like a good point to end Part 1 of this letter. We'll continue with Part 2 tomorrow.]
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