Penny Hikes

When we lived on Carlton Way (Between Gower & Bronson - 1 block south of Hollywood Blvd.), which was quite awhile, we didn't have a car.

Of course, we didn't have a car in Kansas City either, but then it didn't take two hours to get somewhere on a bus, cabs were a LOT cheaper, and we had life long friends.

Which made for a lot of boredom (in Hollywood???), but at the time, it did.

So a lot of times, on the weekends when we didn't visit Bob & Shirley Taber (they came and picked us up, all the way from Arcadia, then brought us home.) or Bill & Irene Taber (ditto), or had one of their girls (Karen Taber or Marie Taber, respectively) staying the week end with us, Mom and I went on frequent Penny Hikes.

People probably don't even know what these are today! We walked out the front door (Gramps never participated), and when we got to the sidewalk, we tossed a penny. Depending on prior agreement, heads was right, tails was left. And so it went at EVERY corner. (Sometimes you walk all the way around the SAME block several times, but not usually.)

Penny Hikes can be short or long, but the Penny Hikes Mom and I went on almost always included a lot of talk and laughter (and sometimes arguments!), no matter how long we spent doing it.

Disco Duck

One night, I was dancing a fast dance with someone at the Holiday Inn, and Disco Duck cut in!

Now I mean the real Disco Duck, in full costume! So there I was, on the dance floor dancing with a duck! We did talk a little as we danced, and he claimed to be the 'real' Disco Duck.

After the dance, The Duck escorted me back to my table and headed for the bar, where he drew quite a crowd. He stayed about an hour, then left.

It was fun to say the least...

The Birth of a Son

(an email to Jon - October 3, 2005 7PM)

Sitting here having a cup of coffee and thinking of you.

Thirty-Seven years ago, at this very minute, I was waiting for your Dad and Granny to arrive (I had called them & told them the contractions had started).

We had dinner, I put Lisa down for the night, and at about 10PM, I called Dr. McAnnich and let him know the contractions were every 5 minutes and that we were going to have a baby tonight. He told me to go to the hospital (Glendale Memorial). I didn’t tell your Dad or Granny that, not wanting to sit around the hospital for HOURS, I just made another pot of coffee, and sent them off to bed for a few hours sleep.

So you and I were alone at the kitchen table. I was wondering if you were a boy or girl, what you looked like, and I was thinking how wonderful it would be, at last, to hold you. It was really kind of a pleasant time…

Suddenly, about 2AM, the contractions dropped to every 3 minutes and got much harder. I woke your Dad, quick!

It was a half-hour drive to the hospital; there was actually some doubt that we’d make it there before your arrival. Your Dad was mad at me for waiting so long!

We got there, with enough time left to check in! You were born at 4 AM. Soon your Dad was handing out cigars, and your Granny was calling everyone in the family.

I almost can’t believe that so many years have passed. That you are now a middle-aged man and have kidlets of your own!

I miss celebrating your Birthday’s with you…

Have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY, and may your Birthday Wish come true!

Mom

Shakespeare and Ashbery

Though we were very poor, and didn’t even have a car, I found much to do as a teen in Hollywood.

For one thing, at that time, Hollywood boasted any number of excellent, small bookstores, used, rare, etc. Once I found them, I spent much time in them, and the owners did not seem to mind me standing in the close packed, usually dusty and dim, aisles, reading. I didn’t have the money to BUY a book, but I did much ‘spot reading’ in those wonderful shops.

It was in those stores that I discovered Shakespeare’s Sonnets and John Ashbery’s poems. I was enchanted! I would note what pages I was on so I could pick up where I left off when I went back.

I had not yet thought of writing poetry, didn’t think of myself as a ‘poet’, but the seed was planted.

PBX Operator

My Mother (Aldine) was a PBX Operator. She learned the occupation at the American Red Cross in Kansas City Missouri at a very young age. It may even have been her first job.

She went on to work at the Kansas City Hall, (Where my Grandfather was the Garage Superintendant) the Coca Cola Company (boy do I wish I had just a few of the promotional items she brought home!), and then the Veterans Hospital in Kansas City.

Once we moved to California, she went to work for the Retail Clerks Union Dental Office on Hollywood Blvd. She worked there for over 10 years.

I never heard her express an interest in doing any other type of work. Her job, and the places where she
worked, played a very big part in our lives.

Rats!

My Grandparents (Thomas Earl Garrett and Grace Garrett) house on Jefferson St. (and the houses surrounding it), were literally infested with rats. You could set a jillion traps and not be rid of the rats!

Now we are not talking cute little field mice here, but big huge rats!

It was so bad that there was a ‘stick’ in a corner of each room (usually from the bottom of an old window blind), to beat them off with!

In fact, my half-sister Donna Fuqua was badly bitten by one of them in the middle of the afternoon while taking a nap (I remember it well – though I was younger than she was.) In her sleep, she had let her hand dangle out of the crib slats, and a rat almost bit off one of her fingers.
I remember her screaming, crying, and her Mother, Irene Fuqua, rushing to pick her up. Her hand was bleeding profusely. It was such a bad bite; they even took her to a doctor (a rare event for such a poverty household.) Her hand was bandaged for days.

Loretto Academy, Kansas City, MO

Though no one in my family was Catholic, I attended this all-girl Catholic School from about 1950-1957 (ages 4-8). It was a majestic old building at 1111 W. 39th St. Kansas City, Missouri.

I ended up going to Loretto Academy because, having been at home with my Grandparents, Grace & Thomas ‘Earl’ Garrett, for my first 4 years; I did not tolerate any other day care my Mother tried!

I do not know if we moved to the 39th St. apartment (a whole other story), which was just down the street from Loretto Academy, before or after I started school there.

The Sisters at Loretto Academy were patient, loving, and above all, teachers. I soaked it up like the proverbial sponge. I was shown a way of life I hadn’t seen at home. Academically, I did very well there (I still have the report cards), which wasn’t the case once I left.

Our uniforms consisted of a white blouse topped by a blue jumper. (Me at about age 6) -------->

In the few short years I spent there, (with my Mother’s permission) I was baptized Catholic, went to first confession and first communion. I also gained a deep faith, which I have kept the rest of my life, though I remained the only Catholic in my immediate family.

I have only fond memories of Loretto Academy, and often wondered what my life might have been like had I gone to that school till I graduated.

Oh, but I DID graduate from Loretto Academy! I graduated from kindergarten! Here is the picture to prove it.

2110 Jefferson St., Kansas City, MO

Was the address of the two-story house, in a definitely poorer section of town that my adopted grandparents, Thomas Earl Garrett and Grace Garrett owned.

I do not know if my adoptive Grandparents ‘operated’ a Boarding House, rented out rooms, or just let those in need stay, but at any given time, a lot of people lived there such as Irene Fuqua and two of her children (older than I) Dale and Donna Fuqua in one room, my Mom, Dad, and I in another. At various times, many lived there and became my ‘extended’ family if not actually related in some way.

I think I lived there, with my illegally (or a poor person’s adoption) adopted Parents Aldine Estes and Clyde Estes, until I was 4 or 5 years old.

Indeed, I was born there, on the dining room table, caught by a doctor who was smoking a cigar during my birth, of Irene Fuqua (Later, Irene Taber; check out ancestry.com). It was a Tuesday mid afternoon and there was a snowstorm going on outside. I was immediately handed over to my adoptive Mother Aldine Estes (Though my ‘natural’ mother, Irene was an integral part of my life until way into my adult years.).

I was named after someone, but now the reason is unknown: Evelyn Ann Estes.

Since my Mother worked mostly full time, my beloved adoptive Grandparents guided my first years.

I have many ‘stories’ or remembrances about that house that I hope to relate in this memoir!

Jesus and Mary

These two figurines have held a dominant place in my home, usually on a home alter, since I received them as a gift. That was when I was 10 years old, so these figurines are 52 now!

They were made for me by Beverly Pearson, who is about 3 years older than I am, in 1956. I don’t know if she was taking a class in school (‘art’ used to be a part of the schools then), or if someone taught her. They say ‘Holland Mold’ on their bottoms.

Beverly is the only daughter of Betty Ford, one of my Mom’s (Aldine Bush), best friends, so Beverly and I spent a lot of time together.