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 31, 1968: Checking the check

Second letter postmarked January 31, 1968 (written January 31):

The CCZCC extends its winning streak to 22.

Dear Mother and Mike,

Sorry I was so long about getting the last letter mailed to you but I was out of envelopes and stamps and just couldn't find time to get them.

Monday I surprised David Wayne by taking him to a special kiddie show, "The Wacky World of Mother Goose." He had been seeing it advertised on TV, but hadn't said anything about going. (It was only shown for three days.) I did not know, though, that on Monday all schools in Los Angeles were closed so guess what all the kids did - right, went to the show! Boy, was it wild - parking impossible, standing in line to get tickets, problem finding two seats together, no way of reaching concession stand for a box of popcorn, and the noise was unbelievable! I really felt like a martyr when we finally got home. The show was delightful, however, and David Wayne did not mind the inconveniences at all.

[According to IMDB, "The Wacky World of Mother Goose" was an "animated feature film based on Charles Perrault's stories and nursery rhymes. It features Humpty Dumpty, The Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe, and the Crooked Man." It was a Rankin/Bass production.]

I can't remember what all I wrote you in the last letter so I hope I don't repeat myself. I believe I wrote you that we didn't do anything over the weekend so no need to say any more about nothing. On Sunday we did try to find Angels Flight - the world's shortest railroad, 355 feet long. We didn't find it but Barbara told me yesterday that she knows where it is and that children can ride on it. I'm going to try to find it again so David Wayne can take his first train ride.

[Angels Flight is a small funicular railway, meaning it's on an incline and it has two tracks, with the two trains connected such that one goes up when the other goes down. It's in the Bunker Hill district of downtown Los Angeles. When we lived there it connected Hill Street and Olive Street. In 1969 it was removed due to redevelopment in the area, and then it reopened in 1996, connecting Hill Street and California Plaza.]

Well, we had our big luncheon at the famous Brown Derby yesterday. I was not too impressed with it, but David Wayne wanted to go so badly that it was worth it. Before we ordered we had a cocktail and your grandson had a "Roy Rogers" - it was just 7-up with a cherry in it, but it was served in a regular cocktail-type glass. Now, David Wayne thought he was really a big boy - imagine his first cocktail at five years old! I couldn't get a child's plate (they did not have any on the menu) so he got the biggest plate of spaghetti I've ever seen and he ate more than half of it.

Here comes the good part: I think I wrote you that we were letting David Wayne "take" us to lunch, so he was to pay the bill. Well, the bill came and he picked it up off the little tray and got his money out. At this point, you must picture everyone in the place watching "that cute little boy who is acting so grown up." He kept looking at the bill so finally, figuring he didn't know what to do next, I said, "David, you put the money and the bill back on the tray for the waitress to pick up." Loudly and clearly he replied, "But Daddy always checks it over first to see if it's right!" It really broke the silence of the dignified Brown Derby and I can imagine that the story is all over Los Angeles as those businessmen probably had the time of their life repeating it when they went back to work. I've never seen Barbara laugh so hard (she was wiping tears from her eyes) and I bet I was fifteen shades of red! And that husband of mine was so damn proud of David Wayne when we told him about it. He said, "That's right, son, always check over that bill." Never doubt that Dave has a terrific influence over David Wayne! From now on I plan to pay the bills myself.

[This is another one of those memories ingrained in my brain, much like being picked up by the monster at Universal Studios or making that comment about the south pole melting when we drove by the globe fountain near Disneyland. I do recall getting quite the reaction, and Mom always liked to tell that story. As I remember it, my actual quote was, "I'm looking over the check like Daddy does."]

I know it's a big relief for you to get all those folders graded. Thank goodness the weather is better for a change, also. I hope Texas winter will be all over by the first of March. We just haven't had any cold weather this year.

Mike's car experience really scared me so I know he must have been petrified. It is really getting bad everywhere from the standpoint of safety. I wish he didn't have to make so many out of town trips - I trust Mike completely, but all those other fools and maniacs!

I still haven't answered Joan's letter - isn't that terrible? Every time I get started on it, I just bog down, don't know what to say or where to begin. But I will make an effort to finish one today and then I'll send you her letter. I really don't know why I find it difficult to wrote to her.

[I hope we get to see Joan's letter soon. It must have really been something.]

Did you see "Valley of the Dolls?" I hope you can forgive me for taking David Wayne to that show. I know it wasn't a fit show, but I truly wanted to see it. I want to take him to "Dr. Doolittle," but it is shown exclusively at only one theater and the tickets would cost $5 or $6 and you have to make reservations weeks in advance. I've also wanted to take him to "Sound of Music" which is showing at several theaters - all miles away from here! The closest one is in downtown L. A. and the parking problem would be terrific. David Wayne certainly takes after me and you about his love for movies. He enjoys them so much that it is a pleasure to take him. During the "Mother Goose" movie he got most upset with all the children that were misbehaving.

Barbara and Erland Hansen have come to the conclusion that David Wayne is developing "total recall." After explaining it to us, Dave and I agree with them and we're not trying to brag. We go someplace one time and the next time he remembers how to go. (This is on streets he's never seen before - like going to the Sivell's.)

[I'm sure my wife is cracking up after reading that part. I have definitely lost that ability. If I don't have a mental map of the area in my head already, I don't even try to keep track of where I am or what direction I'm going. I'll admit it. GPS navigation has made me lazy. But I can still read (and fold) a map, so I have that going for me.]

I read his "Jungle Book" funny book to him once or twice and he now can read the entire book, almost word for word. On Sunday mornings I read the funny papers to him once and then he sits in the floor and reads them out loud word for word. It's the same on other books and stories I read to him - he doesn't read them word for word, but he retells them exactly as they happened. Really, it's kind of scary and I don't feel qualified to handle this situation. He gets most upset with me if I'm telling a story and don't retell the dialog exact.

[See the story about the Brown Derby above. Now I'm sure I have the dialog correct.]

It also comes in very handy - as when Barbara and I park in a big parking lot, we tell David to note the aisle number and he remembers (she and I sometimes forget). Also, when we are going somewhere and need to know an address, Dave tells David Wayne the address and when we're ready for it, he tells us. (Saves us a lot of writing down addresses.) He is always remembering little, insignificant things that happened two or three years ago. Spooky?

[I think I've always had a pretty good memory, which is part of the reason I did so well in grade school.]

I just came back from the doctor and everything is fine. He had sent a blood sample off to a lab and it came back fine so no more pills, shots, etc. - or excuses to feel bad! He said it would be alright for me to travel in a car going home and to stop and rest if I got tired. He's also sending a medical history along with me so in case of trouble I can just call a hospital, ask to see a doctor that delivers babies, and he'll have any needed information. The medical history is also for Dr. Tatum - he said he trusts me not to open it.

[Dr. Tatum was Mom's doctor in Texas. So now it looks like we may all travel home by car.]

Well, that's all the news for now. I've got to get busy and wash today since Dave wore his last clean shirt today. It's been threatening to rain for several days and there's snow in them thar mountains, but the sun shines on Normandie Avenue - maybe that's because we're all coming home soon together! No actual packing yet, but Dave said he'd help so I'm not worried. Take care and write often.

[Can you tell Mom's getting excited about coming home?]

Love, 

Linda

November 13, 1967: Movie tour deal

Letter postmarked November 13, 1967:

The CCZCC is now at 3.

Dear Mother and Mike,

Well, here it is Sunday afternoon - a lazy one at that! David Wayne is watching television, as usual, and he just finished giving Snappy a bath. Dave has gone to the store to buy some Vel dishwashing liquid and I'm sitting here waiting to do guess what - wash dishes. Due to yesterday's activities, we decided just to stay home today.

[Apparently you really are supposed to bathe a pet turtle or tortoise, according to this WikiHow article: https://www.wikihow.com/Bathe-a-Turtle. Before reading that article I would not have guessed that tortoises drink through their anus.]

[The Vel brand of dishwashing liquid was retired in 2002. That's too bad, because it was marVELous as you can see in this commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de8x4gQz3x0]

Now that I've got your curiosity up (I hope) I'll tell you what we did on Saturday. We got up much earlier than usual, dressed, drank coffee, fed David Wayne, and somehow managed to pick up Gene and Suzie on time - then off to NBC. We had tickets to attend the "Let's Make a Deal" show. I don't know whether you've ever seen this one or not, but it's wild. Everyone that wants to be in the show wears some kind of crazy costume - some were way out! Suzie and I loved the program, but, naturally, our stuff-shirt husbands were not impressed. We had Gene and Suzie over to eat supper last night and they stayed until about 11:30 which was really late for us, but we had a lot of fun.

[Yeah, I can see my dad not really getting into the craziness of Let's Make a Deal. Mom would have loved the people-watching, though.]

Saturday wouldn't have worn me out so much if it hadn't followed Friday. Suzie picked me and David Wayne up at 8:00 AM, then we went to NBC and got the tickets for the Saturday show. We were going on the tour at NBC, but we had some time to kill so we went to the Hollywood Bowl. We walked way up to the top and I got a sore muscle in my right leg. I was very impressed with the Hollywood Bowl.

The NBC tour was very good. I'm not saying that I understood everything, but I enjoyed seeing the cameras, stages, props, wardrobe, makeup room, etc. I can even say that I've been in Dean Martin's dressing room and seen his commode and bar - how about that! David Wayne was the only child on the tour, so he got a lot of welcome attention. Our guide even gave him some color film of Jerry Lewis and the NBC peacock. Oh, yes, we got to see the costumes form the "Alice in Wonderland" special which really impressed David Wayne. I was impressed (I sure am using that word a lot, kinda like Aunt Sara's "elegant") with the place where they make props and sets.

[Dean Martin would have been doing "The Dean Martin Show" at the time, which aired weekly from 1965 through 1974.]

[I remember having the film with the NBC peacock, but I have no idea what happened to it, which is a shame if it had Jerry Lewis, too.]

After the tour we paid a small fortune at Grauman's Chinese Theater to see Walt Disney's "The Jungle Book." We sure paid a lot for atmosphere ($2.50 for adults and $1.25 for children). The show that comes before "Jungle Book" is called "Charlie, The Lonesome Cougar" and it is just as good as the main feature. I couldn't really adequately describe the shows, other than to say it was another Walt Disney production all the way. David Wayne laughed until I thought he was going to be sick.

[$2.50 in 1967 purchased about as much as $18 in 2017. Wow, that is a lot to see a movie, although it was a double feature. Per IMDB, here's the storyline for the cougar movie: "When a cougar raised by a group of loggers in the Pacific Northwest reverts to its natural instincts, the consequence could threaten its life." So we saw one movie about a cougar raised by humans, and another movie about a human raised by wolves.]

I'm sorry that your work is so demanding right now. I know that it can really tire you out. Also, I'm sorry Taffy is causing such a problem in the cold weather, but it is a comfort to me that you are taking such good care of her.

Mother, I applaud you for grounding Mike, even though it sounds like he still goes quite a bit. I have a new method of punishment for my little one - television off and he sits in the corner. Boy, does that get him. David Wayne is much more active than Mike was as a child and sometimes I just don't know how to handle him. But this "corner business" will work for awhile - I hope.

[I don't recall ever being told to go sit in the corner, so I guess either it stopped working or I just quit misbehaving.]

I'm anxious for news about Steven Wayne and his mother. Who does the baby look like? Did Linda have any trouble? Is she alright now? Tell me all! And did you get the check okay? Oh, yes, what does Mike think of his new nephew? Did he sit by the bassinet all day when he first saw the little one?

David Wayne refuses to acknowledge that he and his cousin have the same middle name. I told him but he said, "My name is just David Jennings - like my daddy's." David Wayne has really surprised me by not asking any questions about how you get babies. Last night we were watching a movie, "The New Interns," and they showed a scene of a baby being born. I thought to myself, "Oh brother, here come the questions." His reaction: "Did I get spanked when I was a baby?" And that was all. I think he must still be trying to figure out why fish don't get seasick.

["The New Interns" was a 1964 movie that had quite the cast of future TV stars (some uncredited), including Kojak, Jeannie, Mary Ann, Hogan, and The Robot from Lost in Space.]

I will close as I am way behind on letters to answer. I need to write Wayne and Linda, Myrna, Patsy, and the Jennings. Write me soon and just tell Mr. Rigler to go jump in the lake or go run into another door.

[Isn't it nice that people don't have to worry about writing letters any more? Just put your life on Facebook and whoever wants to can read all about it and look at the pictures. You may have to send an occasional email to friends and family who aren't on Facebook, but at least you can send the same email to multiple people and just tailor it a little for each recipient.]

[I believe Mr. Rigler was my grandmother's boss at the time where she worked, which was the Journalism Department at TWU in Denton.]

Love,Linda

P. S. - Mike, instead of writing love letters to Ann during study hall (and I know you don't study), drop us a line or at least send David Wayne a post card.

[Now I think we might know why Uncle Mike got grounded.]

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

July 20, 1967: No kids? No problem.

Diary entry for July 20, 1967:

David went to work this morning. DW and I walked Sunset Blvd. We are not going to have to spend money for entertainment - just watch people. I had my hair cut. DW and I watched the people shooting a scene from movie. Andy Williams' wife was in it. David came home about 3 o'clock and we went out to look for apartment. We had a terrible time finding one that would allow children. About 6:30 we found one on Normandie Street. I really like it. Spent the night at motel for the last time.

Let's hope when we walked Sunset Boulevard I was a bit more restrained about yelling "Hippies!" when I spotted them than I was when we drove it. That movie we saw being filmed must have been The Party, released in 1968. It was directed by Blake Edwards and starred Claudine Longet (Andy Williams' wife) and Peter Sellers.  Here's the plot synopsis from IMDB: "A clerical mistake results in a bumbling Indian film star being invited to an exclusive Hollywood party instead of being fired." ["Hilarity ensues" must have been accidentally deleted from the end.] Claudine Longet divorced Andy Williams in 1975, and then was convicted of negligent homicide after fatally shooting her boyfriend (an Olympic skier) in 1976. (But she just paid a fine and had to serve 30 days. At her convenience.) I think Peter Sellers was in some other films in addition to this one. I'm going to declare this diary entry the first one of historical significance, because that movie was the only Blake Edwards - Peter Sellers collaboration that was not a Pink Panther movie. A landlord that won't rent to families with children? Hey, there ought to be a law against that. Oh wait, there is. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 made that illegal. Familial status became a protected class along with national origin, race, religion, disability, gender, or handicap. Since this was 1967, refusing to rent to families with children under 18 was still legal, causing a bit of grief for some families as you can see here. (I knew there would be some history lessons along the way. You're welcome.)