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
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.
Letter postmarked August 30, 1967 (dated August 29):
Today's letter was the third one in a row with a zip code. Unfortunately Mom put the wrong zip code on this one (76204 instead of 76201). 76204 is a Denton zip code, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades so the zip code counter is reset to zero.
Dear Mother,
[Hey, what about Uncle Mike? The envelope was addressed to him, too, you know.]
I surely did enjoy your letter with the description of the "elegant" house. Is this the family whose five-year-old son drowned? If it is, I don't see how they could possibly enjoy the house. David Wayne is a big headache at times, but I couldn't live without him.
[Me, a big headache? Some things never change . . .]
Well, I received my final paycheck the other day. Sure will miss it - probably miss a few meals, too! That is the only thing about school I will miss though. If I ever do get melancholy, I have only to open the window that faces the kindergarten next door and the memories come rushing in - "Johnny, don't hit that girl! Children, please be quiet? Will you mind me?" See what I mean? By the way, talking about school reminds me. You remember that teacher that lived by us? She has a job teaching in Cross Plains, her hometown. Dave and I really felt like celebrating that good news. She didn't get fired and I'm glad she resigned before she did get the axe.
[In case I haven't mentioned it before, Mom had been teaching for a few years for the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. It looks like she decided to resign before going on this trip to Los Angeles. She didn't go back to teaching until the late 1970s, I think.]
[I had no idea there was a kindergarten next door to our apartment in Los Angeles. The buildings on either side of that apartment building now are also apartment buildings, but in looking at old satellite photos it looks like there wasn't an apartment building to the south when we lived there. The building that was there was shaped more like a house, so maybe that was a kindergarten at the time. A little research reveals the apartment building to the south was built in 1988.]
[The teacher Mom is referring to here is probably the same one she was referring to in her letter from August 1. It sounds like Mom isn't too upset about her moving away. (Cross Plains, TX is near Abilene.)]
Oops! Ran out of paper.
[All of Mom's letters up to this point were written on what appears to be yellow paper from a legal pad. She must have used up all the legal pads and switched to white loose-leaf notebook paper for the remainder of this letter.]
The Spanish section is on Olivera Street and it is in L. A. I'm sure we will make it over that way. There is so much to do in this city, that Dave and I can't decide what to do while you are here. You will have to help us decide. Don't worry about bringing enough money. We owe you a small fortune for feeding Taffy.
As for clothes . . . bring a few cool dresses as it is very hot during the day. Bring only a light sweater for night. By all means bring comfortable shoes - you just can't imagine how much we walk here! I'm still wearing my tennis shoes with holes in them. I'm hoping that your visit will be a big enough event to warrant a new pair. Mainly - be sure to come! I need you here soon and not only for new shoes.
[Ok, it looks like my grandmother's trip to visit us is still on, and Mom can't wait. That's quite understandable.]
I hope you didn't miss "The Fugitive" I really enjoyed the first show since it was located in L. A. I recognized several buildings and street names.
[That paragraph is pretty cool because it refers to a bit of television history. "The Fugitive," which ran from 1963 through 1967, was a TV series about a doctor who had been convicted of murdering his wife and was sentenced to death. He escaped while on the way to his execution, and spent the entire series staying one step ahead of the police while trying to find the one-armed man who he believed really did kill his wife. The two-part series finale, which wrapped things up nicely, was aired on August 22 and August 29, 1967. Part one did take place in Los Angeles, so that's the "first show" Mom is referring to. Depending on your source of information, part two of the final episode, which aired the date Mom wrote this letter, was the highest rated TV series episode ever until a certain episode of "Dallas" aired in 1980.]
I haven't written Uncle Ben and Aunt Edna or Myrna. I intend to write them soon. I keep pretty busy on letters - the Jennings, Nate and Judy, you and Mike, Wayne and Linda, a teacher friend, my neighbor Patsy, and Daddy and 'delia. Also I write Sara about once a month. The other letters are weekly. That's why I ran out of paper!
[Some of those folks have already been introduced, but some are new. Uncle Ben was my grandmother's uncle (her father's brother), and Edna was his wife. Their daughter Myrna was just two years older than Mom, and she and Mom were very good friends since she also lived in Denton. Some of my earliest childhood memories are from when I was with Mom and Myrna. I was a bit of a biter at some point when I was a toddler, and one of my memories from childhood was a time when I bit Myrna and she bit me back. That was a painful lesson, but it worked to make me stop biting people as far as I know.]
["The Jennings" Mom is referring to here are my dad's parents, who lived in Belton, TX. Nate is my dad's younger brother and Judy is his wife. "Daddy and 'delia" is referring to Mom's father (Marshall, aka "Alabama") and his second wife, Audelia.]
Did I write you that David Wayne and I spent one day at the zoo? Well . . . we did and it was just great. It was awfully hot that day and we couldn't even see all of it. I sure want to take you there.
Last Saturday we went to Jungleland. This is where all the TV and movie star animals live. It is also the place that David Wayne had the misfortune of being kissed by a camel, bitten by a llama, and gored by a goat. He also rode an elephant - all by himself. He sat on top of a giant turtle. We even got to see a lion tamer show. He jumped every time the whip snapped - but so did Dave. We bought him an elephant bank for his collection. Stupid me forgot to take the camera!
[I suppose that means the pictures I have from Jungleland were taken on a future visit, not the one on August 26. So you might see some more of those pictures in the future. In the meantime, however, I do have a surprise - the first bank picture! This week one of the boxes I unpacked from our recent move to North Carolina included some of the bank collection, and the Jungleland elephant bank was among them. Here's a picture of the elephant bank next to a US quarter for scale. The tip of the trunk has been chipped, but other than that it seems to be in decent condition.]
[When I turned this bank over to look inside I saw what looked like a couple of pieces of gum, as shown in this picture.]
[That stuff is very hard to the touch, and I never put gum in the banks, so I know it isn't gum. I think it's the rubber stopper that was in the bottom of this bank. A little history of the bank collection will explain why. Several months after we returned from Los Angeles we moved into our house in Farmers Branch when I started first grade. My dad put shelves up along one wall in my room, and the bank collection was proudly displayed on those shelves until I moved off to college in 1980, with the occasional rearrangement or removal for painting the room. I couldn't leave them in my room when I went to college because a certain sibling of mine moved into that room before I had really moved out, so Mom and I cleaned them all, wrapped them up, packed them in boxes, and stored them in the attic. And that's where they were for 25 years until I moved back to Texas and had a big enough house of my own to display them. In case you weren't aware, it can get hot in Texas. That means it can get really hot in an attic. So the elephant bank must have been placed upside down or on its side in the box such that over time, that poor little rubber stopper slowly sagged and melted and eventually dripped inside the elephant.]
Sunday I remembered the camera and we went to the Japanese Deer Park. This wasn't much of a place, but David Wayne enjoyed feeding the baby deer. (No injuries this time.) He also got to carry a pigeon on his arm. The most fun we had here was eating fortune cookies. The cookies didn't taste so good, but the fortunes were funny.
It was still early when we left the deer park, so we went to Knott's Berry Farm again - for the third time. It's so cheap there that we can go many times. We still haven't seen everything there. David Wayne rode the antique cars.
[Here's a scan of an item that might help explain why we went to Knott's Berry Farm so many times. This is the front and back of a trifold flyer for the park.]
[If the free parking, free admission, and full page of cheap attractions wasn't enough for you, just look at those restaurant menus. You could have inexpensive fun at Knott's Berry Farm all day long and then have filet mignon for dinner before you went home!]
[On the left side of the page of attractions, below Calico Mine Ride and above Cable Cars, you'll see the Bird Cage Theater, which featured "old time melodrama, music and vaudeville acts." I doubt we went there because my Dad wasn't really into those things, and I was only five, after all. But here's something interesting about the Bird Cage Theater. Between plays the actors would do short bits showcasing their individual talents, such as singing, dancing or standup comedy. From about 1963 through 1966, one of those actors, a recent high school graduate in front of his first paying audiences, honed his act which was a combination of comedy, juggling, magic and music. That young actor honed his act so well that he went on to release three comedy albums in the 1970s which sold over 3.5 million copies and won two Grammy awards for Best Comedy Album. That actor's name was Steve Martin. And now you know . . . the REST of the story.]
Monday, David Wayne and I spent another day at the beach. This time we carried a picnic lunch. I feel so over-dressed at the beach. My bathing suit has more material than any 12 others there. I really am glad David Wayne enjoys building sand castles instead of girl-watching!
[Some things never change . . .]
I just got another letter from you so I will answer your questions in that letter.
I'm glad you have been to see Wayne and Linda. I got Wayne a shirt for his birthday (like always), but I got him something else, too - a pad to protect his clothes from the baby. I had trouble getting a box so it didn't get there on time. I hope they take the pad as the "joke" I intended it to be.
I hate to hear Sara isn't feeling well. I guess I should write her another letter.
[Mom's Aunt Sara started feeling better. She's 98 years old as of August 2017.]
About letting us know when you will be here . . . well, I don't know exactly. Wayne could call Dave at work and we'll pay for the call. I guess Wayne knows the company - I don't. If the one o'clock flight is cheaper, take it! Remember it would only by 1:30 here! I'll ask Dave tonight if he can think of a way to let us know.
[This in an interesting dilemma you wouldn't expect to have in the connected world we live in today. My grandmother was making plans to fly to Los Angeles to visit us very soon, and they didn't think there was time to mail a letter to inform us of her arrival date and time. This was long before email, cell phones, and overnight package delivery services existed. Long distance phone calls weren't cheap, hence the offer to pay for the call if Mom's brother Wayne called my dad at work with the flight info. Hopefully we'll see what they worked out in the near future.]
Now, Mike, you just _can't_ let those hamsters die while mother is gone. David Wayne really wants to see them - in fact, he would like for Nana to bring them with her. His daddy feels a little differently about that. Also, congratulations on your speeches. I know you speak better than I used to sing at those luncheons. Maybe you can save the Mordecai reputation yet. Wayne did pretty good, but I ruined that easy enough. It's a good thing we had our little "post script" to fix things aright.
[Mom's older brother Wayne was born in 1937, she was born in 1941, and her younger brother Mike was born in 1950. They all graduated from Denton High School, hence the comments about Mike coming along as a "post script" to fix the Mordecai reputation.]
You asked if I had finished "The Honey Badger." I just started on it today. I've been reading that "Mandingo," "Drum," etc. series. David Wayne got finger paints from Nate and Judy and that keeps me busy. We are also melting crayons between wax paper. We're all looking forward to your visit.
[Another mention of "The Honey Badger." <chuckle chuckle>]
[Ah yes, melting crayons. I definitely remember doing that with Mom. As I recall, we would create a bunch of crayon shavings of various colors and spread them out on a large piece of wax paper. Then we would put a piece of wax paper over the top of that and Mom would iron it, just like she was ironing a shirt, which melted the crayon shavings. Multi-colored abstract patterns would result. Groovy, huh? I don't think any of those masterpieces made it back to Texas, unfortunately.]
Love,
Linda
Diary entry for August 26, 1967:
We took David Wayne to Jungleland. He was kissed by a camel, bitten by a llama and gored by goats. He rode an elephant by himself and sat on top of a giant turtle. We saw a lion tamer show. Bought an elephant bank. Had a wonderful time!
Both of my parents absolutely loved to talk about this day at Jungleland many years later, always using the exact same wording Mom used in this diary entry: "kissed by a camel, bitten by a llama and gored by goats." (Alliteration is alluring.)
Before we get into those incidents, though, let's take a look at front and back of the Jungleland flyer Mom saved.
First, note that Jungleland was located in "smog-free" Thousand Oaks, California. Smog was clearly a big issue in some parts of southern California at the time.
As you can see, Jungleland was more than just a zoo. It opened in the 1920s after Universal Studios closed their animal facilities, and was used for holding and training many of the animals that appeared on movies and TV shows. Some of the more famous animals housed there included a couple of MGM lions, Mr. Ed the talking horse, and the chimpanzee from the Tarzan movies. Jungleland closed in 1969 due to competition from places like Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and Universal Studios. The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza is now located on the site.
Ok, back to our fun-filled day. I think the camel incident occurred as we were just walking along a pathway and a camel leaned over a fence and licked the side or top of my head. I don't think I even saw the camel until after I got licked. One of the pictures in the photo album has this caption: "The 2-humped camel at Jungleland - this was not the same one that kissed David Wayne."
I don't remember the llama incident, which is surprising because I'm sure I screamed and cried like crazy when I got bit. (Mynd you, llama bites Kan be pretti nasti . . .) Mom said there was a group of boys in front of us who had been harassing the llamas and trying to get the llamas to spit at them. I guess one of the llamas had had enough by the time I showed up and he decided I got a little too close, so he bit me. The caption of this photo is "It was one of these llamas that bit David Wayne at Jungleland."
That fence in front of those llamas does not look very high at all, maybe four feet at the most. If visitors could walk up to that fence, it's no wonder there was an incident. Since Jayne Mansfield's six-year-old son had been mauled by a lion there less than a year earlier during his birthday party (the boy survived), you'd think Jungleland might have been a little more concerned with the safety of their guests.
I'm guessing the goat incident occurred in the baby zoo section. Being only five years old I was probably just the right height to get poked by goat horns in various places. The photo album does have photos of each of us holding a baby goat.
I do remember riding the elephant, but there aren't any pictures of it. The photo album has a picture of me riding a giant turtle at Knott's Berry Farm, but not at Jungleland.
Here is a picture of me drinking from a lion head fountain with my dad standing behind me. He did not always look like he had just gotten home from work and taken off his jacket and tie.
In the lower right corner you can see the head of a llama that must have been stalking me. Hey, this is the first picture of either one of my parents I've published. There will be more for sure.
The addition of the elephant bank from Jungleland brings the bank count to four now.
