Thursday, June 25, 2015

Soon as I Get Paid

Terrific West Coast Swing. Thanks Terry West



Ring a ling went the telephone
Is the man of the house at home?
Your master card is over due
Mr. Mo we need a payment from you
Right now, right now, right away

Look here
I ain't got nothing to send you today
But I'ma give you all your money
Soon as I get paid
Soon as I get paid

Well, now the joint was jumping
It was Saturday night
Her hair was long
And the dress was tight

I looked at her
She looked at me
And the champagne stared flowing
To a quarter to three, yeah yeah, oh yeah
To quarter to three

Look Mr Bartender
I'm gonna make it okay
I'll give you all your money
Soon as I get paid
Soon as I get paid

Monday morning, money gone
It's a dog gone shame
Don't worry, I get you straight, you'll be fine
You know what, you'll get yours, when I get mine

Uh, whoa, oh, got a letter from the IRS
Your tax return is a terrible mess
We want our money, we don't like to wait
Please come an see us on such and such date
Right now, oh yeah, right away

Well, I ain't got nothin' to send you today
But I'ma give ya all your money
Soon as I get paid
Yeah, soon as I get paid

Well, well, soon as I get paid
Thursday and Friday evening
Soon as I get paid
Better catch me before Monday
Soon as I get paid

Oh yeah, soon as I get paid
You heard me
Soon as I get paid
Soon as I get paid



Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Ethel Avenue


A LITTLE SPANISH-STYLED BUNGALOW IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY


I lived in a great little house in North Hollywood with my family in the mid-1950's.  It was adjacent to El Camino Real--the King's Highway--which linked the missions developed through California in the 1700's by the Franciscan Order of the Catholic Church. Leave it to my father to find an interesting home for us to live in.

The development of the valley was accelerating mid-19th Century, and two-story apartment houses abutted our place on two sides. There were still many vacant lots in the valley, however, and cities like Encino, Tarzana, North Hollywood and Studio City were distinct places along Ventura Blvd. with orchards or undeveloped land between them.  


Here are the only pictures I have of that house and time..


This was taken at the backdoor on my 9th birthday, I believe.  As a nine year old kid would do, I'm proudly showcasing my rabbit's foot which is hanging from a belt loop. 



(The damage to the photograph was done by my dog many years later)



We used the structures in the backyard  alternately as "The Bank of Bud", and a chemistry lab.




This one, which was probably built and used as a chicken coop, became a puppet show theater.



Our dog Rusty won "The Homeliest Dog" award in a pet contest in Mill Valley a few years before this picture was taken of him in the driveway.



I think I had to pay my eldest brother 25 cents to take this photo (he caught the entrepreneurial spirit at an early age).  I wanted a picture to send my grandparents in San Francisco.  I combed my hair, donned a clean shirt and put a toy cigarette in my mouth in my best Humphrey Bogart impression.  





A family picture (minus the bro behind the camera) taken around my mom's '52 MG.  Not long after this, I was living with my grandparents in San Francisco.




I'm nostalgic, so you can imagine how chagrined I was when I visited North Hollywood fifty years later and found that my house and front yard had become a parking lot.







Even so, the backyard, where I spent many hours playing alone and with my brothers, had become a retail sculpture garden.

This is the view from Ventura Boulevard (El Camino Real).




It is a special place to me, and I'm glad that it has been preserved.












Tuesday, June 23, 2015

A Most Practical Gift





It seems as if I can't make it through a day without using this..


Monday, June 22, 2015

Sunday, June 21, 2015

James Robert Horton





In his later years, my stepfather told me of his experience during the assault of Okinawa during WWII. He was a Navy Signalman on a support ship.  The ship next to him incurred a direct hit from a Japanese Kamikaze, which he witnessed from the signal deck.  He told me how the sounds of battle moved from the shore and then inland over the course of a few days.

This is a Naval map of the ships involved in the assault.  I brought it with me when I last visited him. I wanted to know about his life, but he left us that night.










Thursday, June 18, 2015

Sunday, June 14, 2015

June 14 in the Backyard




"The problem with owning a home is that wherever you look there's something you should be doing"   ---Sam Ewing


Here are some pictures of my backyard minutes ago, and there are plenty of things I should be doing..










 















Saturday, June 13, 2015

Temple of Light Progress



The Baha'i temple in Santiago, Chile--the last continental Baha'i temple-- is nearing completion. The significance may be lost to the world, but not to me and Baha'is everywhere.






Thursday, June 11, 2015

Ella at the Beach



Ella is three months old..






Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Front Porch on San Luis Street



Josh's first room was in the front porch/sun room of Pederson's old house on San Luis Street.  He'd watch people coming and going from the unemployment office next door. He remembers the street-sweeping machine that would drive by in the early mornings.



Here he is waking up sweaty after a nap.  That room really warmed up in the afternoon.



You can see the sun room in this picture, but not Josh.  He's inside his mama. 






Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Monday, June 8, 2015

Tug, the hunter..







My cat Tug in the catbird seat






Tug has been watching birds through the windows. A few weeks ago he started jumping up on my armoire, and I'm pretty sure it was an instinctive response to seeing all that prey.

It would have been fine with me, but naturally he started pawing the vase and dried flowers, and I was sure he'd destroy them as cats are wont to do.  I had a brainstorm: cats are very fussy about their coat and paws, so I bought a few 12" square floor tiles, took off the backing, and put them with the sticky-side up under and around the vase.

The next day I saw Tug had gotten on top of the armoire, and it looked like he was curious as to what I had done, so I grabbed my camera.






I caught the moment when he touched the sticky.




He contemplated what just happened.




And then guess what? He licked off the sticky.





He decided to move to the other side...




Waaay to the other side.





This is the moment he decided that the prospect of scattering some dried flowers and watching a vase smash on the floor wasn't worth the trouble.











J.J. Cale - Santa Cruz





Sunday, June 7, 2015

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Chalk Drawings of Paris




Van Gogh's chalk drawings of Paris..