History Lessons (alternately, ch-ch-ch-ch-changes)

Today's post will discuss some of the things we ran across in 1967-68 that were a little different than the way things were 50 years later. We'll also review a few historical moments. Let's start with the culture at the time. 1967 was the Summer of Love, with the Monterey Pop Festival taking place in June on the west coast, the song "San Francisco (Be sure to wear flowers in your hair)" climbing the charts, and the hippie subculture gaining a foothold in many large cities, most notably San Francisco. That cultural phenomenon was clearly present in Los Angeles as evidenced by the various mentions of hippies in Mom's letters, especially the earlier ones. My small-town Texas parents definitely went through a bit of culture shock being exposed to all that, which gave us some entertaining reading on more than one occasion. Closely related to that cultural movement, and no doubt somewhat of a driver of it, was the escalation of the Viet Nam war in 1967. Protests against the war were also escalating, including marches that often turned violent. A Peace March scheduled to pass within a few blocks of our apartment on August 6, 1967 made my parents nervous enough to leave the area that day and make our first of many visits to Knott's Berry Farm. The military draft was also in effect at the time, and we got to see the impact of that on a young family in a letter one of Mom's friends wrote to her. Another bit of civil unrest during this time was the race riots that were occurring all over the country. (Look up "long, hot summer of 1967.") We moved to L. A. only three years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law, and two years after the famous riots in the L. A. neighborhood of Watts. So when Dad found out Mom and I had unintentionally driven through Watts one day, he was understandably upset. Technology has obviously advanced a bit in the past 50 years. Some things that were relatively new at the time, with a certain "wow" factor, are either taken for granted today or have almost disappeared entirely. For instance, Dad spent a lot of money to purchase a Polaroid camera while we were there. Polaroid instant pictures were a good alternative to waiting days to have film developed and they gave people nearly instant gratification. But today, given how easy it is for anyone to take a digital picture and see it (and share it) instantly, for free, Polaroid film doesn't have much of a chance although it does have a certain nostalgic charm to it. Polaroid instant cameras are still available, although with slightly different technology. Another thing that wasn't commonplace in 1967 that we take for granted now is color TV. We had a black and white television set in our apartment, and one of the letters mentioned my parents' friends, the Dirrs, inviting us over to watch a TV special on their color television one night. Mom mentioned that she hoped we could buy a color TV when we got back to Texas, and I'm pretty sure we did before the end of the year. As previously noted, 1972 was the first year in which more color television sets were sold in the US than black-and-white sets. Also in the area of technology, something important was happening in the late 1960s that I don't think was mentioned in any of the letters although there were a few front page newspaper articles about it while we were in L. A. That was the race to the moon. The Apollo program was in its early stages, having yet to launch a manned spaceflight, yet we found our apartment in L. A. exactly two years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. The changes in technology in the past 50 years have certainly changed the way we communicate. In 1967, long before the internet was even a gleam in Al Gore's eye, there was no such thing as email. This was also long before mobile phones of any type were available, so there were no cell phones either, which meant no texting. No cell phones. No internet. No email. No texting. So how did people communicate? Well, people communicated the old fashioned way, via letters and phone calls using telephones connected to landlines. To make matters worse, the telephone companies charged extra for long distance calls outside of your local area, so most people, especially those who were pinching pennies, just didn't make a lot of long distance phone calls and tended to rely more on letters. We know letters were the primary method of communication between Mom and my grandmother. Letters at the time could go via ground, or you could pay a few cents more for airmail if you wanted faster delivery. All but one of Mom's letters was sent via airmail, and even with that we could see on a few occasions where the lag between sending and receiving caused some communication issues that wouldn't occur today. We have grown so accustomed to nearly instant communication these days that it's hard to imagine having to wait several days, perhaps more than a week, to have someone reply to a question. We did learn about one method of almost instant communication that was occasionally used back then, and that was the telegram. When my grandmother made her flight plans to visit us she sent a telegram because sending an airmail letter would have taken too long. Strangely enough, we also learned that Western Union continued their telegram service until 2006. Speaking of letters, we also learned the use of zip codes was somewhat new in 1967. Although Mom grew up in the house my grandmother was still living in, she didn't even know my grandmother's zip code when she started writing letters. It took her several months to get to the point where she always remembered to include the zip code when addressing the envelope, but she ended up doing it consistently. Not only was it nearly impossible to communicate as quickly as we do now, it was also difficult to get stuff as quickly. We moved to L. A. six years before the first overnight delivery service, Federal Express, began operations. People in 1967 probably didn't see much of a need for overnight deliveries, and they definitely would have been amazed that in the future you could even get same day delivery of some items. During our stay in L. A. we also ran across a few things that seem totally out of place today and have since been changed for the better, often with the prodding of the legal system. The first notable event was the search for an apartment in Los Angeles when my parents found it difficult to find an apartment building that would allow children. This was before the Fair Housing Act of 1968, so that was a perfectly legal practice at the time. The next incident that comes to mind was my encounter with a pay toilet when I was unable to pay. Fortunately pay toilets were banned in most places in the US in the 1970s and are rarely seen today. We learned that car seats were not very common in the late 1960s and certainly were not required by law. On a related note, I don't think any of the letters mentioned seat belts, but seat belts were not even required equipment for all seating positions in passenger cars until 1968, and wearing seat belts wasn't mandated by law until the mid 1980s. For most people it's weird to even think about not wearing a seatbelt today. Another more recent change in the area of child safety was the design of playground equipment. I haven't done any research on that, but the playground equipment I played on in Griffith Park would be viewed as quite archaic and hazardous today. Another item related to health and safety that was mentioned many times during the first half of our stay was the smog. Say what you will about California's environmental regulations, but they seem to have greatly improved the smog situation over the past 50 years. It was really sad reading Mom's description of how the smog affected us. Even if people who were living there got used to it, you know it had to have a negative effect on people's respiratory systems and who knows what else. If you want really bad smog today you can go to some big cities in China. We also learned that the medical guidelines regarding the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy have changed in the past 50 years, since Mom did not abstain early on in her pregnancy. In the world of sports there was a lot going on, although in most cases Mom just mentioned it as an aside, leaving me to do the research to figure out what game she was talking about. (You're welcome.) The most important thing from a historical perspective was the rise of OJ Simpson to national prominence as a junior running back for the USC Trojans. I really wish I could ask my dad what his thoughts were while watching college football's "Game of the Century" between USC and UCLA, especially OJ Simpson's touchdown run that is considered one of college football's best plays ever. The same goes for college basketball's "Game of the Century" between UCLA and The University of Houston two months later, which Mom and Dad both watched intently with friends while I played on the floor with coloring books and dominoes. Finally, since we were so close to Hollywood, it's only natural that the world of entertainment was featured in one way or another in many of the letters and diary entries. Mom and I saw a scene from the 1968 movie "The Party" being filmed, we saw a Shasta root beer commercial being filmed, and we attended tapings of Let's Make a Deal (with Monty Hall) and Art Linkletter's House Party. Our friends the Dirrs appeared on The Newlywed Game with Bob Eubanks, and Mom and I got to see Dean Martin's dressing room, including the toilet, as part of an NBC studio tour. And some television history was mentioned in one of the letters, too. That was the final episode of "The Fugitive" television series, the most watched TV show of all time until the world found out who shot J. R. Ewing 12 years later. In tomorrow's post I'll try to fill in a few gaps and tie up some loose ends.

January 29, 1968: Shasta twins

Letter postmarked January 31, 1968 (Part 2, written January 25 and 26):

We went on another picnic today at Griffith Park. Suzie and I both wore Bermuda shorts - that's how warm it is in L. A. on January 25! David Wayne had fun swinging, climbing, sliding and mostly building a fire to roast marshmallows over. On the way home we stopped to watch the filming of a Shasta Root Beer commercial. It's done in an old-timey setting with antique cars, old costumes, etc. We pointed out to David Wayne an old Keystone Cop outfit (rather I did, Suzie had never heard of Keystone Cops!) We really got a kick out of one part - a pie in the face scene. I couldn't believe all the trouble they went to just to film a commercial. There was a director, several cameramen, make-up man, etc., etc. - just like filming a full-length motion picture. And all these people acted like they were on camera, so aware of an audience I suppose.

[I found two Youtube links to that commercial, neither of which is very good quality. This one has the full commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_cZUzK_dqY. This one cuts off the beginning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adWmJ362Fu4. According to the description of the second one, this commercial "features original Keystone Cop and Walt Disney voice actor Billy Bletcher in one of his last screen credits." I could not find any verification that Billy Bletcher was ever a Keystone Cop, but he did appear in silent movies.]

[Unfortunately I don't remember watching the filming of this commercial at all, but I do remember seeing this commercial on TV. Whenever it would come on Mom would ask me if I remembered seeing it being filmed and I would sadly say no, even way back then.]

[The rest of this letter was written January 26, 1968.]

Today I guess we'll just stay home since I need to wash my hair.

[Good grief, is that an all-day task?]

Next week Barbara and I are taking David Wayne to lunch at the Brown Derby - he has wanted to eat at "the hat" ever since we got here. I'll have to get out and go to post office - we're out of stamps. I can't even mail this letter until I do that.

[I guess I was mistaken when I first started going through these letters when I thought we frequently ate at the Brown Derby.]

Take care of yourself and I hope you got all those folders graded. Oh, I've written you about how big David Wayne has gotten but I neglected to tell you that this ole' girl is pretty big, too. I just know I'm carrying twins - got to be! Everyone says I look like I'll have the baby just any day. And I'm really carrying this baby low - much too low for any comfort. If I stand, I'm too heavy to feel good and if I sit - well, I just can't for very long. It is completely impossible for me to bend over. If I drop anything on the floor either it stays or I have to call David Wayne to come pick it up for me. But I have been really lucky in that I didn't go through the morning sickness or have any leg cramps. (I did have those when I carried David Wayne.)

See y'all soon in good ole' Texas!

Love,

Linda

October 12, 1967: Spaghetti trot

Letter postmarked October 12, 1967:

The CCZCC now stands at 8.

Dear Mother and Mike,

How are things in "Little D?" What has Mike done exciting and how is his love life? Any news yet from Wayne or Linda on their baby's arrival? I do hope everything goes alright and that Linda won't be too scared. Mother, you might better send Mike to get the baby bed at the jailhouse pretty soon.

[As most of you know, Big D is Dallas and Little D in this context is Denton. I have no idea what "baby bed at the jailhouse" could possibly mean.]

I haven't been to Farmer's Market yet to get any catalogs. I just don't feel like getting out and fighting the traffic. It's not that I feel sick, just lazy. Last Friday I did take David Wayne to Griffith Park where he rode on the little train ride and a pony ride. At the pony ride the man asked him if he wanted to walk or trot. Of course, the little stinker said trot and he really bounced all around the track. Afterwards, he said he didn't like it (he laughed during the whole ride!) and I said, "Why did you say you wanted to trot?" To which he replied, "I didn't know what 'trot' meant." At least he has the spirit of adventure. We also toured the famous "Travel Town" in Griffith Park. It is located right on the top and must be only a few feet from the sun - that is the hottest place I have been. We did go through a passenger car in a train and many things there were interesting. They have there the oldest circus car in the world. It, evidently, was one for lions and it is just like they show in the movies.

[Regarding the pony ride, that sounds exactly like something I would do, say "yes" to something I was offered without inquiring about what it is. Here's a memorable example from 1985, when I was 22 years old. I was on a two- or three-week business trip to Connecticut with a group of coworkers, and one weekend we drove down to New York City. It was my first visit to The Big Apple. I went to dinner with one of the other guys, and when the waiter took our drink orders I asked for tea. The waiter asked if I wanted Long Island iced tea. Having never heard of Long Island iced tea, but with Long Island being one of the boroughs of New York City and me being in New York City for the first time, I said yes, because, well, when in Rome . . . So my Long Island iced tea comes to the table. For those of you unaware, I've had fewer than 10 beers in my lifetime and have never taken more than a sip of liquor at any one time. Thank goodness I wasn't super thirsty and didn't take a big gulp of that "tea" when it arrived. I could tell on that first sip that it didn't taste like any tea I've ever had before, sweet or unsweetened. I did not need a refill. Q: "Why did you ask for a Long Island iced tea?" A: "I didn't know what it was."]

One reason that I don't feel like going out is the smog. I read in the paper this morning that it lacks only a few numbers (0.44 whatever that means) to be at the danger alert stage which is 0.50. Every morning Dave and I feel like we are coming down with a fresh cold - runny eyes and nose. After that clears up later in the morning, our headaches begin - we call them "smog headaches." I'll describe how bad the smog is - you can't see Griffith Observatory! Remember how you could see it going down that big hill on Normandie? That stuff is poison, you know, and I will really be glad when it gets better.

[Griffith Observatory was a little over three miles due north of our apartment on Normandie.]

[I believe the numbers Mom was mentioning in that paragraph are ozone parts per million (ppm). According to an article I found at ozoneservices dot com, 0.50 is the ozone level at which Los Angeles, California, declares its Smog Alert No. 1. It can cause nausea and headaches in some individuals. Extended exposure could cause lung edema (an abnormal accumulation of serous fluid in connective tissue or serous cavity). It enhances the susceptibility to respiratory infections. So I guess it's no wonder Mom and Dad were having issues.]

Last night we ventured out just to have something to do. Really, the reason was because Dave was kinda upset: He was being sweet and helping me drain the spaghetti for supper when the lid slipped and all our supper went down the garbage disposal. I laughed about it, but poor Dave didn't think it was very funny as he had to go to the store and buy more spaghetti (and a strainer, by the way) and wait another 30 minutes for supper.

[I can see Dad being more upset about that incident than Mom was. I bet it was rather funny, though, watching all that spaghetti slide down the drain. Good thinking about buying that strainer.]

Anyway, we left after supper and drove down Sunset Strip - hippie land. I think Dave just wanted to see people who looked sillier than he felt when the slippery spaghetti slipped down the sink. Well, we got lost after turning off the strip and we wound up way on the other side of town. I didn't think we would ever see our apartment again.

[Hello again, hippies. It's been awhile.]

Do you remember the nice little man who came to our apartment building and washed the porch and steps and watered the sidewalk? He's sorta the handyman who comes once a week. I found out from the manager that he is in and out of mental institutions all the time because he sets fires! Boy, do I feel safe now.

[He sounds like an ideal candidate for an apartment complex handyman.]

I guess I will close for now. It is time for my morning nap and then I will eat lunch and take my afternoon nap. On second thought, I may skip the naps today - the handy fire-setter is here today. I'd hate to be burned in my bed!

Love,

Linda

September 12, 1967: Shop, watch, pack

Diary entry for September 12, 1967:

Feel fine today. Drove to Penney's. Bought some clothes. Then drove to Griffith Park Observatory and Planetarium. Saw a show about stars and many exhibits about the universe. David Wayne loved it! Came home, cooked supper and ate, and then Mother packed.

Well, darn, Nana's already packing to go back home. :-(

I'm glad Mom felt good enough after yesterday's surgery to get out and about today.

Here are scans of the front and part of the inside of the trifold brochure from the Griffith Observatory and Planetarium.

We very likely attended the first showing of the "Northern Lights and Other Sky Colors" show, which sounds really awesome, since that one started today and showtimes were 3 PM and 8:30 PM. I wonder if Mom was disappointed about not seeing the "Trip to the Moon" show, since she mentioned that in her August 23 letter.

September 10, 1967: Busch Hippies

Diary entry for September 10, 1967:

Got a late start today. Went to Busch Gardens. It was too hot and too crowded. Couldn't ride monorail because of long line. We went on boat ride and saw a few birds. Left early.

Next, we got a watermelon and went to Griffith Park. Saw and heard hippies. David Wayne played on park equipment. Then on way [home] we drove down Hollywood Blvd. Saw Grauman's Chinese Theater.

Having gotten home from Disneyland at midnight last night, it's no wonder we got a late start today. That's a bummer about Busch Gardens being too crowded. I still need a bank from there, too.

This visit to Busch Gardens is what I was alluding to in the post on the September 3, 1967 diary entry, when I mentioned a future event that made me think Mom backed off on the alcohol consumption after she found out she was pregnant. She always liked to tell the story about how much Dad enjoyed this particular visit to Busch Gardens because they gave each adult visitor a free beer after going through the tour of the brewery. Since my grandmother didn't drink alcohol and Mom couldn't drink any because she was pregnant, Dad was very happy to get two extra beers at the end of the brewery tour. Anyone who knew my dad would have no doubts about the truthiness of that story.

I think Mom had previously mentioned that the hippies infiltrate Griffith Park on the weekends, so we were apparently victims of that today. Unfortunately there is no mention of whether or not I brought my guns with me.

Sunday didn't turn out quite as well as Saturday, but at least we tried and Nana got to see a little bit of Hollywood. We'll see what adventures unfold this coming week.

August 18, 1967: Hot mini-skirt

Letter postmarked August 18, 1967 (written August 17):

Unlike the previous letter, Mom forgot to put the zip code on this one. Tsk tsk!

Dear Mother and Mike,

How are you folks? Mother, are you sticking to your diet and pills? I guess Mike just zooms around in his new car. Be sure to take care of the hamsters because David Wayne wants one. This next sentence is contributed by David Wayne himself: Be sure to take care of Taffy!

[Wow, it sounds like they had quite a collection of animals at my grandmother's house, with our dog, an iguana, birds, and now hamsters.]

The weather here has really changed. The last two weeks have been hot! The nights are cool, but the daytime is unbearable. The temperature is only 90, 91, 83, etc. - but it must be the humidity that is worse than Texas. Needless to say, our daily walks have ceased. I had to go to the store yesterday and since I didn't feel like walking, I actually got the car out of the garage and drove! Of course, I couldn't get the car back in the garage and had to leave it parked on the street, but Dave was pleased that I had tried. He even (since the car was already out) took me to a Penney's store.

On the way home we drove by Griffith Park. This time we drove into it and found a zoo. It is a beautiful drive through the park, all shaded and green. On the weekends, of course, this is where the hippies have their "love-ins." I'm glad we saw it once uncontaminated! At this same park is an observatory with a planetarium show and also the Greek Theater. Harry Belafonte is at the theater now until September 2.

[Below is one of the postcards I have from Griffith Park. It shows the entrance with the observatory in the background. It does look very pretty and is uncontaminated by hippies.]

[Fun Fact #1: Griffith Park is named after the man who donated most of the land for the park to the city of Los Angeles in 1896, Colonel Griffith J. Griffith.]

Man, did we have a weekend. None of us are fully recovered yet. First of all, Saturday afternoon we took David Wayne to the Alligator Farm. You just can't imagine how much he (we really) liked it. We saw big goldfish - bigger than the ones I had once! There were all different colored ones - black, pink, speckled. We saw baby alligators and crocodiles. We saw many of the reptiles that are in David Wayne's book - gavials, iguanas, all kinds of snakes, turtles. The big event though was the feeding of the alligators. Can you imagine one man walking into a pen with 250 hungry alligators? He must get a big salary! He next went to the crocodiles - four of them. One of the crocodiles had just had eggs. The minute he walked in the pen that old crocodile was after him. He couldn't talk much for keeping out of her way. They even had a trained alligator show. The alligators would crawl up the ramp, slide down a slide, and splash! into the water. Some of the alligators had been in fights. Their feet were gone, half the tail of one, and two had broken jaws. As we left, we got an alligator bank for David Wayne. He is really proud of it - already has it filled up, too. No wonder Dave and I don't have any money.

[Another mention of the Alligator Farm and the bank I got there. I bet I was fascinated by the guy walking into the pen with all the alligators. Below is a scan of the inside of the tri-fold brochure, showing the layout of the exhibits.]

[My commentary on the brochure: 1: Although gavials only eat fish and aren't dangerous to humans, I'd still be a little nervous swimming or walking around one. 5: No reptile stops growing. Interesting . . . 9 and 16: Whenever I see the phrase "Nile Crocodile" I think of the song "King Tut." 14: Alligators are cannibals. 15: Alligators are not very bright and don't have much energy. 17: The title character in "The Happiest Millionaire" kept alligators as pets.]

Dave was in such good spirits Saturday he was going to buy me a dress. We shopped for hours, but he wanted a mini-skirt for me and we just couldn't find one - thank goodness! After shopping we came home, ate supper, rested awhile and then off for more adventure.

[First Mom talks about push-up bras and now she's talking about my dad wanting to buy her a mini-skirt. I think I'm a little young to hear that kind of talk from my parents. I just can't imagine Mom in a mini-skirt, and apparently she couldn't either.]

This time we went to Chinatown. It is really something - especially at night with the lights. All three of us were pretty tired so we didn't see it all. We plan to go back soon. We did get some souvenirs - chopsticks, a yellow paper flower, and a decanter that is really cute. We couldn't find much for David Wayne so we got him a donkey made out of paper, and as you unwrap the paper you find little surprise toys. He enjoyed it but next time I want to get something that will last.

[I'll go ahead and state the obvious punch line here: After we visited Chinatown, my little ass was just full of surprises.]

We came home exhausted Saturday night, but we were off again Sunday. We took David Wayne and Jeffrey (the 10-year-old boy upstairs) to Knott's Berry Farm. The boys had a wonderful time. They rode the merry-go-round, a steamboat, a train ride, and antique cars. We went through a jungle land and Old McDonald's Farm. We bought David Wayne a hat with a looong green feather. That hat was Dave's idea - he said when he was little he always wanted one.

[This particular trip to Knott's Berry Farm was previously mentioned in a diary entry, but since this is another mention I will reward the audience with a scan of another ephemeron. Below are scans of the front cover and a few select pages of the menu from the Knott's Berry Farm Chicken Dinner Restaurant, where you could get Mrs. Knott's Fried Chicken Dinner for only $2.75 in 1967. That's $20.09 in 2017 dollars, but my goodness, look at all those extras you get with that, including beverage and dessert. The inside pages give a little history of Knott's Berry Farm and include statements from the couple who started it all, Walter and Cordelia Knott. (Walter turned 78 years old in 1967 and Cordelia turned 77. They lived to the ages of 91 and 84, respectively.)]

This weekend we are planning to visit Little Tokyo. They are having a parade Sunday and we thought it would be interesting. Dave has really surprised me about going places. I think he even enjoys it! Of course, during the week we stay home, but he _is_ working.

[I'm glad my parents were brave enough to go to a parade, given what happened at the last one Mom wrote about (which they avoided). Let's hope we don't run across any hippies or Nazis at the parade on Sunday.]

Did you get your birthday present? I am building up a library of pocketbooks. This week I've read the play "Luv," "Mandingo," and "Leave Her to Heaven." About all I do during the day is read, cook, and mend my britches when I bust the seat out. I am really getting fat. Sego in California just doesn't taste good.

[Fun Fact #2: Harrison Ford had an uncredited role as a hippie in the film version of "Luv."]

[Sego was a meal replacement diet drink available at the time. It was eventually replaced by other products such as Slimfast.]

[Fun Fact #3: Alfred Hitchcock discovered Tippi Hedren when he saw her in a Sego commercial during the Today Show. (Tippi Hedren is Melanie Griffith's mother. Melanie Griffith is Dakota Johnson's mother. Dakota Johnson and Kevin Bacon were both in the movie "Black Mass.")]

I've been watching the mail all week, hoping to hear from you. Have you found out anything about plane schedules? We're still saving Disneyland for you. Besides, I need someone to complain to. Dave just won't encourage me at all, except to say I can't afford to get sick. I've already diagnosed my malady as homesickness so keep the letters coming and put a fire under that little brother of mine.

[Seems like Mom and I are both going a little stir crazy. Hopefully we'll start doing more during the week now that Mom is driving the car.]

Love,

Linda

August 16, 1967: New driver

Diary entry for August 16, 1967:

I drove the car for the first time today - even backed it out of garage. I drove to Von's grocery and then to Beverly Blvd. and got David Wayne a little car. I left the car parked in front of apartment. Dave took us to a Penney's store at night. We got a mattress pad for David Wayne's bed. Then we drove through Griffith Park. We found the zoo. It was a lovely drive.

It's hard to believe we were in the apartment almost four weeks before Mom drove the car. She did like to reminisce about how proud she was of herself for finally getting the nerve to back the car out of the garage. As I mentioned previously, it took some maneuvering to get that boat (Pontiac Bonneville) in and out of the garage under our building.

I guess Better Foods didn't have quite enough foods yesterday so we had to go to another grocery store today.

My bed, as I recall, was a folding metal cot. So any additional padding was probably very beneficial.

No mention of hippies during this drive through Griffith Park. Maybe I scared them all away.

August 1, 1967: The First Letter

Today's post finally has the first letter that my mother wrote to her mother and younger brother while we were living in Los Angeles in 1968. Here is a picture of the envelope:

Please note that there is not a zip code in the destination address but there is one in the return address. Five-digit zip codes were first introduced in 1963, and became mandatory for some bulk mailers in 1967. They were generally adopted soon after that. I do recall seeing print or television ads encouraging people to use zip codes when I was a child.

Also note the stamp says "U. S. AIR MAIL" on the bottom and cost 8 cents. (Not 0.08 cents!) Sending snail mail via "air mail" used to be a thing back in the day since it was faster than sending mail via a ground route. (Not Pony Express, but still slower than air mail.) Air mail effectively ended as a separate class of service in the US in 1975, since by then almost everything went via air anyway when it was practical. Incidentally, 8 cents in August of 1967 bought about as much as 58 cents in June of 2017. (More on that later in this blog post.) Forever stamps cost 49 cents today.

Also also note that this letter was addressed to two people, specifically my grandmother Eloise Mordecai (aka "Nana") and my mother's younger brother Mike. He had just turned 17 and would have been entering his senior year of high school.

Following the same conventions used in the diary entries, I'll always write out my name as "David Wayne" and my dad's name as "Dave." I'll also take the liberty of making any minor corrections to grammar or spelling, or other minor adjustments for readability purposes. I know Mom would appreciate that, since she was an elementary school teacher for about 25 years.

Since these letters are considerably longer than the diary entries, I will be interspersing my comments between paragraphs rather than at the end of the letter. My comments will be within square brackets. [   ]

Letter postmarked August 1, 1967:

Dear Mother and Mike,

It was wonderful getting your letter. I had been patrolling our mailbox for several days. I was relieved about your x-rays. Dave laughed till tears ran down his cheeks about the chocolate (Ex-lax?)

[As I mentioned in an earlier diary entry, I really wish I had the letters my grandmother wrote my mother while we were living in Los Angeles. I don't know if Mom kept them for any period of time or not. It sounds like this one had a rather amusing anecdote about chocolate and/or ex-lax. My dad didn't laugh that hard very often, so I'm sure it was a good story and the way my grandmother told it was hilarious.]

Mike was right about bringing Taffy instead of David Wayne. There is no problem with pets - cats, dogs, etc. (I don't know about iguanas) - just no children. David Wayne talks constantly about getting a bird and getting one of your cages to keep it in. He doesn't want one bird though - he wants a family - mother, daddy, and a baby. It's the same story with rabbits.

[One new character to introduce here. Taffy is my mother's dog (a black cocker spaniel) who I presume stayed with my grandmother and uncle while we were in Los Angeles. My mother mentioned iguanas with the other pets because, as my uncle recently confirmed, he did have a pet iguana for a brief period while he was in high school. I don't remember the iguana, but I do recall my grandmother having pet birds at least into the early 1970s.]

I haven't got a letter from Wayne and Linda yet. I guess they are busy packing. David Wayne told me that when the baby comes he wants it to live with us. Be sure to ask Wayne and Linda about this.

[Two more characters to introduce in this paragraph. Wayne is my mother's older brother, and Linda is his wife at the time who was apparently pregnant. (Spoiler alert: Their baby did not come live with us.)]

We haven't done much sightseeing yet. Friday night we took David Wayne to the La Brea Tar Pits. They have reconstructed a giant mammoth from bones found there. They have other statues of prehistoric animals sinking into the tar. I forgot to tell you about David Wayne and that dinosaur book. On the way to L. A. David Wayne learned the name of every reptile that was pictured. His memory and learning ability amazes me sometimes.

[Awww, mothers say the sweetest things . . .  The La Brea Tar Pits were previously mentioned in the July 28 diary entry. Way cool. I do remember that book Mom mentions here. I kept it throughout my childhood and I'm pretty sure it was among the books Mom kept at her house for her grandchildren, too.]

Sunday we drove by Griffith Park. They had a hippie demonstration there about two weeks ago. From what I could see, it hasn't broken up yet. I try to keep Dave away from their hangouts. He gets so mad at the sight of them that I think he would run over them if he got a chance. It would be very easy since they usually walk in the middle of the street.

[This paragraph cracks me up. I don't remember any specific incidents like this, but I can just see my dad tightly gripping the steering wheel, cursing under his breath (or not) at the sight of those darn hippies out protesting and causing chaos. It's no wonder I remember not liking hippies when we lived out there.]

Also, Sunday we drove to Santa Monica Beach. David Wayne loved it! It is so cool by the ocean that I don't think it will be possible for us to swim there.

[Too cool to swim in July? What kind of nonsense is this? Hopefully climate change has taken care of that by now.]

Sunday was a good day and that was mainly because it was our anniversary. David Wayne got his daddy a shower soap with a cord.

[Nothing says love like soap on a rope, right?]

I got Dave a gold (filled) money clip and had it engraved. It says:

To my husband David

7/30/67

Linda

Pretty sneaky of me to have the date put on it, eh? Of course, if Dave ever finds out I paid $20 for it, the marriage will be dissolved. The engraving cost more than the clip - how's that for sentiment? I had to swear David Wayne to secrecy! Dave completely floored me by buying a necklace with a small diamond in it. The diamond _is_ small and David Wayne embarrassed us both by repeating over and over: "What diamond? I don't see a diamond. Where's a diamond?"

[It may seem strange that my mother was worried about spending $20 on an anniversary gift, but according to the Inflation Calculator provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm), $20 in July of 1967 had the same buying power as $146.68 in June of 2017. So, yeah, $20 was a bit of money back then. But Dad must have liked it because he used it the rest of his life. Here are pictures of the front and back of it:]

[Hopefully you can read the engraving on the right side of the first picture. (That's a scratch and some lighting that makes "LINDA" look like "MNDA.") You can also see that it's quite scratched up from being in my dad's pocket for 24 years. The plating on the back side is very worn, and you can barely see that it says "12K G. F." there.]

[Regarding the small diamond in the necklace, I do remember asking where it was when Mom showed it to me. I really wanted to see it, but as I recall I don't think Mom tried very hard to point it out to me. Alas, I do not have a picture of the necklace.]

We are really looking forward to your visit. David has already mapped out the route to the airport. David Wayne is excited about you coming, but he is disappointed that Mike can't come. He says you can bring the iguana instead. We are saving most of the sightseeing to do with you. Please come, I may never see anything unless you do. You know Dave and spending money. I told him yesterday if the Lord came down and offered to take him on a tour of heaven for only a dime, that he wouldn't go.

[Ok, it looks like my grandmother is planning to visit us in Los Angeles. I'm sure the note I wrote her in June asking her to come to Disneyland with us is what convinced her. I'm also sure I was disappointed my Uncle Mike couldn't come visit. But at least I suggested the iguana as a backup. And yes, my dad was a little tight with money. I'm surprised I never heard that "tour of heaven" quip before.]

We are in a perfect location - for Dave anyway. There are no stores where I can spend money. David Wayne and I walk everywhere we go. Last week we averaged three hours of walking per day and two blisters per foot. I did find a dress shop and I bought a fancy bra - you know the low cut kind that pushes you up. (Very sexy, I thought.) I just knew Dave would be impressed with my "new" figure. His reaction, "Why did you buy one that was too small?" I haven't worn it since. Wow! was my ego deflated!

[Well that comment backfired on Dad, didn't it? He probably thought it was a clever compliment.]

I wrote Sara a letter. I'm sure she told you if you saw her. I got a letter from that teacher that lives by us. She had kept her house this summer so she could get close to us next year. We may never come home.

[Another new character in this paragraph. Sara is my mother's aunt on her father's side. She turned 98 years young this past December. I don't know anything about the teacher Mom is referring to here, but it sounds like Mom was not looking forward to her living close to us.]

Oh, yes! David Wayne thinks he is seven years old instead of five. We couldn't understand this until he explained. He had a birthday at your house - 5th, he had a birthday at Papa's - 6th, and then the kids ate cake at our house - 7! Very simple! I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that the little girl next door is older than him. He is a very lonesome little boy with no playmates. There is one 10-year-old boy upstairs, but he stays somewhere during the day and on the weekends they go a lot. I feel I'm slipping (mentally) by playing "Candy Land" and "Winnie the Pooh" all day. I can get a job in a factory when we return - I'm getting very good with my motor skills by putting Tinkertoys together.

[Apparently I was good at math at a very early age, or at least manipulating it to meet my needs. I don't recall having any friends to play with while we lived in Los Angeles, or being upset about it, so I guess my mother did a pretty good job keeping me entertained or letting me entertain myself. In this paragraph we have some evidence that I have always enjoyed board games. In case it isn't mentioned later, I was a terrible loser.]

[We have another new character to introduce here, and this one most definitely was a character. Papa was my mother's father. He and my grandmother were divorced around 1954, and then he remarried and moved to Sanger, Texas. He worked as a barber in Denton, and I remember hanging out in his barbershop for who knows how long and being mesmerized by the whole process as he adjusted the height of the barber chair with the lever on the side, put the paper around the customer's neck, slung the cape around in front of the customer and tied it off, sharpened his razor on the razor strop, etc. I could go on and on about him, but one thing relevant right now is that he gave me a very short haircut (essentially a buzz cut) right before we left for Los Angeles. (He probably didn't care for hippies either.) It's easy to tell in my early childhood photos whether they were taken before or after we moved to Los Angeles.]

I will close another catalog until next time. I need to put my beans on to cook. Oh yes, I'm becoming quite the little homemaker. I've cooked lima beans (dried), pinto beans (dried), and ham hock, and fresh green beans. I'm sure I walk five miles in the apartment every day just checking to see that the beans don't burn.

Love,

Linda

P. S. I wish these Californians knew how to butcher a cow. I have a difficult time buying meat. Who ever heard of a "7 bone steak" or "family cut?"

[The 7-bone steak is so named because the bone that's in that cut is shaped like the number 7. It's also known as a center-cut pot roast, which is probably what it was more commonly called in Texas. "Family cut" may be referring to "family steak," which is a cut from the chuck of the steer. FYI, the chuck is the part of the cow between the head and the ribs. So it's the upper part of the shoulders, essentially.]

Ok, this was a good first letter from Mom, expanding on some things that were already mentioned in the diary entries and mentioning some new ones. It's neat to see how she felt about various things going on, good or bad, and also to see what she wrote about what was happening with the family back in Texas.