The CCZCC, after the previous letter's adjustment, extends its winning streak to 20. I think Mom's getting the hang of this zip code thing.
Dear Mother and Mike,
Well, I got your letter last Friday and evidently you hadn't gotten the one from me about the "coming home crisis" being over. Again, let me say, it is a big relief to both of us that the job is ending by first of March. As to whether I will fly or ride in the car, we haven't decided for sure - more than likely we'll let my doctor decide that for us. Suzie "spilled the beans" to David Wayne about flying home (I hadn't planned on telling him anything until we knew for sure) so I thought, uh-oh we'll have to fly. But he seems to want to ride home so he can sit in front seat with Daddy and me in the back seat - also he said he needed to keep an eye on toys!
Last Thursday we went on a picnic with Suzie and believe me, the woods is the place for that ole gal. She and David had more fun than any two people I've seen - they followed the horse tracks on the bridal path and made up all kinds of games about them. Suzie found Winnie-the-Pooh's house for David Wayne, climbed trees, did all kinds of tricks on the swings, and they built a campfire (first one David Wayne has seen!) Since we were out in the woods, I could sit back and relax, letting them make all the noise they wanted to - and they did have a screaming contest which sent all the animals in Griffith Park scurrying away!
[Here are a couple of pictures of me and Suzie at Griffith Park, possibly on this day.]
[In the one with the playground equipment you'll see that it's all bare metal. None of that padded plastic crap the kids these days have to play on. Nope. If you hit your head (or any other body part) on playground equipment back in the day it hurt, by golly. It might even draw some blood as a further reminder to be careful and not do that again. And do you think a bare metal slide got hot with the midday sun shining on it? You bet your sweet bare skin it did. How are kids supposed to learn about heat absorption these days?]
[Speaking of blood . . .]
The day was a lot of fun with only one minor accident - David Wayne fell and skinned his elbow, side, and wrist. He didn't cry very much but he was most upset at having to go into the ladies restroom and get the blood washed off! We plan to go on the picnic bit again this week. Oh, I forgot - when we got home, David Wayne fell right to sleep (in the afternoon) and slept for two hours. He probably would have slept longer but I woke him up so he'd be able to sleep that night.
Friday I just felt sorta blah - know what I mean? I called Barbara Hansen and she told me to come over and have a cup of coffee. I bet she won't make that mistake again - I had morning coffee, noon lunch, afternoon beauty shop (we both got our hair fixed), and I was just leaving when Erland came home. I think she enjoyed the day as much as I though.
[Still no mention of that broken feather duster. I might be in the clear.]
Saturday we really had fun - the Sivells had invited us over. We got there about 2 o'clock and didn't leave until 10 o'clock. David Wayne had more fun playing in their back yard with their two dogs. He and Mr. Sivell are great "pals" and Mrs. Sivell said her husband had really been looking forward to our visit. She had fixed a wonderful meal for us. (You should have seen David Wayne eat!) After eating, the men played ball in the back yard and I helped (very little) clean up dishes. Then it was too dark to stay outside so we all watched a basketball game on TV - Houston vs. California. Now, I never watch any kind of sports and Dave watches only football, but you should have seen us pulling for the Texas team! During the game, David Wayne played in the floor all by himself - drew pictures, played with their dominoes, and looked at his "Jungle Book" funny book. He really did behave good all day.
[That basketball game they watched wasn't just any old basketball game. It happened to be the very first time a regular season NCAA college basketball game was televised nationwide during prime time. If that's not enough of a big deal, it was also college basketball's game of the century, between the UCLA Bruins and the University of Houston Cougars. Legendary coaches John Wooden vs. Guy Lewis. Legendary players Lew Alcindor (future Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) vs. Elvin Hayes. The game was announced by legendary sportscaster Dick Enberg. #1 ranked UCLA came into the game with a 47-game winning streak (two and a half seasons). #2 ranked Houston was undefeated that season and won this game 71-69.]
[So once again Mom casually mentions a game being watched on TV and it turns out to be a major historical sporting event with its own Wikipedia page.]
Mrs. Sivell really knows how to get along with children - she had gotten some Jiffy Pop popcorn and she let David Wayne fix his own snack. He was delighted. We all three spent a wonderful day and we are going to try and do something very nice for them before we leave L. A. - what? I don't know.
[Jiffy Pop! Jiffy Pop! The magic treat! As much fun to make as it is to eat!]
[Here are links to three low-quality commercials for Jiffy Pop currently on the Youtubes:]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vegPoI0NgdM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVdMA4QHdUU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-An6eaGItk
[Note the Jungle Book connection with that last one.]
[We'll end Part 1 of this letter here.]
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