Actors and Writers ON STRIKE! - They'll Have a Difficult Time because of the Millions of Hours of Reruns Available... I'd Like to See DALLAS Again or SNL the Early Years... Recent TV and Movies Actually SUCK!

I Wish the Actors and Writers the Best of Luck... What IF They are On Strike for a Year? Would Anyone Notice? or Care? Here at Home We Watch a Lot of TV and Almost ALL of it is Reruns... Ancient Aliens, Andy Griffith, Beverly Hillbillies, Addams Family, M*A*S*H, Green Acres, Hogan's Heroes, Gilligan's Island, Bones, House, Sons of Anarchy, but NOT Mayans... 

And My TV Gets 10,000 Movies... I Just watched ARRIVAL starring Amy Adams, Lifeforce, Meeting the Beatles in India, Blade Runner,  Total Recall, Men in Black 1, 2, 3 but not 4... Ghostbusters 1,2 and 3... Everything, Everywhere, All at Once 

(a Great Movie That Had Zero Hollywood Actors - Except Jamie Lee Curtis) and Now I'm Enjoying Monty Python's Meaning of Life... With the Song "Every Sperm is Sacred" - You Certainly Can't Write Jokes Like THAT Anymore!

Remember: Current Writers Produced the Movie AVATAR the Way of Water... Basically the Exact Same Movie as AVATAR but Wet... I Hope The Writers Stay on Strike for at Least a Year... Right Now They are Just Rewriting the Same thing Again and Again and Again and Again!  

I Hope AI Will be able to Write Better Stories...

Buy this Hat!

STRIKE! 

Embroidered Slogan Hat for sale at Zazzle Gregvan

Link to All My Hats!

The Last time I went to the Movie Theater was for Lord of the Rings... and We went to All Three Movies... SO... If the Hollywood Actors and Writers are Depending on ME to Finance their Lifestyle... they are Out of Luck... 

I DID Watch the Steven Colbert Show Last Night and It was a Rerun... The Monologue was Dated (2/1/2023) but Really Funny Anyway... I Guess He's Not Making New Shows Because the Writers are on Strike... BUT SO WHAT???

One Silver Lining to the Actor/Writer Strike is: after a Year of Unemployment they might have some Real Life Adventures to Make Shows About!

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

Here's a Whole Buncha Memes to Share on Social Media... Mocking Republicriminals, QuackAnon FREAKS and TrumpNiks®

Those People Need to Wake The F*CK UP!

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

and then I Read on FaceBorg:

Summer 1967, Los Gatos, CA, 50 Miles South of San Francisco...

As summer came to an end in 1967 so did the summer job, summer girlfriend, summer innocence and the Summer spirit that one has transitioning from 8th grade to high school. Not knowing what really lies ahead at high school, some kids with siblings would have heard stories, but my brother was 9 years ahead and well, not to interested in what I was doing or thought. End of summer end of going to Santa Cruz on the Greyhound bus for 35 cents and if there was no money at the end of the day, just get in the pick up (hitchhike) line at the Dennys at the Hwy 1 and 17 junction and try not to get into a car with a drunk.

Still walking and biking and getting parents to drive us to and fro, a driver license still a year or so away. If we knew some older kids with a car, who would want to be seen with a “younger Kid” we might get a ride…

All this makes me happy.... in many ways it was a small town. Yup... A Small town…now that has its ups and downs too there were a lot cultures in town, families from here and there, great folk, everyone was family, Lazzano, Malatesta, Yablonski, Craddock, if we did do something stupid we got in trouble right then, and again when we got home..…

Bocce ball courts at the top of Oak Meadow park were full on Saturday morning with the old guys telling stories in some language that we kids were not supposed to understand. Times they were a changing…..a fellow named Max Walden bought the old University Ave Middle School in 1966 and was slowly converting it into a Bohemian Shopping/Craft center. Max would throw lavish parties to woo investors and gain favor with the town folk as the “Hippies” were moving in he need to stay ahead of the rumors. Max Gave me my first job and For 2 summers (66 and 67) I worked cleaning up the construction debris and cleaning up after the parties. All the while seeing the transformation begin and getting to know the new commers. I had found a home! These artist and shop keepers were not the old guard, not the clicks and groups that exclude all but their own, they were friendly, open and loving. The stage was set for the summer of love just 48 miles northeast…SF. In 1968 after a stint working at Poly Prim Bakery after school cleaning the “kitchen”.. I Got a job at the Los Gatos Theater, gladly trading sticky messy aprons and jeans for slacks, shirt and tie. Yup..usher, ticket taker, candy sales and all the popcorn you could eat.

The Theater was an independent, so we never got the block busters but every once in a while an independent would make it big and we were the center of it all, Butch Cassidy, True Grit, Z, at the end of a 6 week run we knew every word and could recite the movies by heart.

Once again I was the youngest of the crew and was welcomed by all the others. This was the big time… working down town for over 3 1/2 years from 5:30 to midnight, and weekends you get to know the all the merchants, barmen, restauranters and of course the local cops and more. The fights, the make ups, the pranks and the odd. The Guys returning from Vietnam were starting to mix back in with the ones who managed to not go and the stories they all had started to make an extended Canada move, seem like a possibility.

What Paradise Was Like Before it Burned. My Memories of a California Town. [personal autobiography of everything I ever did in Paradise...Just to keep the Town's Memory Alive... If you are reading this in the Future. Paradise, California Burned to the Ground in 2018 and all buildings were destroyed.]

I was lucky enough to have visited the town of Paradise.

My fondest memory was Dancing at a Pow Wow. I was a member of Mom's AA in Chico and there were Many American Indians in that club. Dorothy invited us to go to Paradise for an Inter-Tribal Event. Duke was the Master of Ceremonies. I did the "Orange" Dance with a Native Woman. I held an orange between my chin and neck and then transferred it to HER chin and neck. I wore a belt with 5 Jingle Bells strapped to my leg... That Belt was used later to Chime Quitting Time at Work... At 5 PM I Rang the Bells and Everyone Cheered and went home... When I retired I gave the bells to Suzie so she could keep the Tradition Going.. Those Bells were filled with Magic because they had been "Danced" at a Pow Wow.

I took a Drumming Class with Adult Education. I was Working at Ja-Kay's Farm in Concow with Mike. She hired us to put unwanted stuff in a giant dumpster. It was a Birthday Present for her Father. When he came home from a trip, all the garbage would have been Miraculously Cleaned Up. When we were done with the day's work she invited us to go to a Learn How to Play the Drums in a Big Group Class. Mike did not go but I accepted the invitation. They held the Class in an abandoned Chinese Restaurant. There were about 12 students and we played Bongos and Congas. The teacher had sheet music for us to read and learn specific beats. After Practicing for a few weeks we performed at the Chico Farmer's Market. We Played "Miserlou." He played Guitar and invited some other musicians to play keyboards and bass. After that performance The Teacher wanted to GO PRO and Go on Tour, Charge admission... that ended the group for most of us because we just wanted to have fun... I do remember that at that performance we played the song incorrectly... We were supposed to play the beat for 20 bars and then STOP PLAYING so he could play the melody on the Guitar... well we failed to all STOP at the same time... He just shrugged and grinned... and Nailed the Solo. Oh Well.

I went to the Feather River Hospital and Had a Colonoscopy and Polyps Removed. 

We went to see RADAR perform in a play. (Gary Berghoff)... It was at a The Fancy Playhouse and we met a lot of our friends in the audience... It was a RARE performance by Gary Berghoff who was a Paradise Resident. Makes me Wonder How He's Doing Now... He's Alive...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Burghoff

Mike C. and I went to see a friend perform in the play "Same Time Next Year." I was amazed by my friends ability to memorize lines... The play has only Two Actors and a tremendous quantity of words.

Swimming in Butte Creek. It's a Wild Inner Tube Ride when the water is high in the Spring... OKI Dam is a beautiful wide swimming hole and we went skinny dipping there.

Visiting the Honey Run Covered Bridge.

More pictures of the Covered Bridge:

 https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-honey-run-covered-bridge-over-butte.html

Finding Gold in a Quartz Crystal on Butte Creek. Craig and I went to the Bridge Just Upstream of the Covered Bridge and Took a Video of the Creek. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvqTJXTmt7o
On the Side of the road was a shady spot and I sat down to smoke a cigarette. When I was done I picked up a rock to snuff out the fire and it was a beautiful white crystal quartz with a vein of gold... I kept that rock... It's in My Back Yard in Eureka Now... Right next to the shiny black rock I picked up at Mount Saint Helens in Washington State.

Swimming (illegally) in the Reservoir. It provided drinking water to the Town so people were not allowed to swim...

We went to an AA Meeting in Paradise. Small Meeting, everyone knew each other and I felt like a Stranger in a Strange Land. But I'm glad I went... I love Visiting Different Towns and Going to their Meetings... 

I had a friend who lived in Paradise who was a "Clamper" (a member of E Clamper Vitus - a Fraternal Organization devoted to Helping the Widows and Orphans abandoned by Gold Miners That Died.)

Driving up the Skyway and Stopping at the Overlook to see Butte Creek Canyon.

Butte Creek Canyon photographed on the Skyway to Paradise, California

The town was Named for a "Pair Of Dice"

More Pictures of the Butte Creek Canyon:

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/06/paradise-butte-creek-canyon-california.html

Camp Fire Map 11/19/2018
We are REALLY Lucky that the Firefighters Put it Out
Before CHICO Burned. Thank You.

Click on the link to see... 6 Photographs of The Honey Run Covered Bridge over Butte Creek near Chico and Paradise, California BEFORE it Burned - a great place to go Tubing when the Water is High... a WILD RIDE!
The Bridge was destroyed by Wildfire on 11/9/2018
So Sad... It was a Historical Landmark.
 https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-honey-run-covered-bridge-over-butte.html

and Here is what Liz Merry Said about the Rebuilding of Paradise... 

Liz Merry

“Someday I’ll meet you all in Paradise…” So sang the great Scott “Ska-T” Pressman of Chico’s Spark ‘N’ Cinder Band. I spent last weekend in Paradise for Gold Nugget Days, which celebrates the discovery of a 54-pound gold nugget found just north of town in 1859. A gold nugget of that size could solve a lot of problems, couldn’t it?

It was my first visit to Paradise since the Camp Fire destroyed the town and left 85 people dead over 4 years ago. Dozens of our friends and family members lost their homes and many survivors relocated to Tehama County. Welcome!

Paradise looks very different now, of course. Where there used to be trees there are now sweeping vistas. That happened here in Manton, too, after the Ponderosa Fire. Driving up Forward Rd., you could suddenly see way down Battle Creek Canyon and over to Hwy 36E. Silver linings. We’ll take ‘em.

There is a buzz of construction as people rebuild their homes and lives. Apparently there was not much rhyme or reason as to how people were reimbursed by their insurance companies and the PG&E payments have been all over the place. There are folks who have been in their lovely new homes for a couple of years and others who have just started to receive funds to rebuild or move on. Neighborhoods are a patchwork quilt of new homes popping up among chain link fenced parcels with nothing but a cement slab to identify them as former residences.

Paradisians were jubilant to see old friends and neighbors. The hugs were long and sincere - like they never wanted to let go. Survivors of such enormous tragedy share a special bond. Gold Nugget Days is something that bridges Before to Now and unites them as a community. A great reminder that all communities are made up of people, not buildings and trees.

I spent Friday and Saturday nights in Chico at the home of my longtime BFFs Kathy and Lynette. We worked together at LaSalles in downtown Chico in the mid-80s, when it was a yuppified fern bar and restaurant. Kathy went on to create and coach the Women’s Golf Program and Team at Chico State and Lynette teaches art at Diablo College a few days a week.

They bought a beautiful home together in the Chico Avenues decades ago, fixing up a mother-in-law unit in back for Kathy while Lynette lives in the main house. I haven’t seen either of them since before Covid, so having this time to catch up was fantastic. They are both brilliant and we pretty much solved the world’s problems in a few hours.

Downtown Chico, on the other hand, is looking downright shabby these days. It was always appealing, bustling and thriving, but now appears to be in a sharp decline - like the “doom loop” we keep reading about in San Francisco. Empty storefronts are rampant - even the four “anchor” spots on 2nd and Main Streets. The 7-Eleven on the corner of 1st and Main is closed with a chain link fence around it - shocking. There is an air of seediness and danger - what happened?

A perfect storm of challenges from many directions hit the town, that’s what. 10,000 people showed up overnight after fleeing the Camp Fire. Traffic became insane. Covid closed the University and many businesses couldn’t survive. The homeless situation is at crisis level. Mental health resources are stretched thin. Without a variety of cute shops and the proliferation of online retail, shoppers just aren’t as likely to spend an afternoon browsing. There is an argument that the downtown landlords, most of whom don’t live in Chico, are charging too much for rent. How much is a storefront worth when it is surrounded by empty ones? Who is going to risk the time and money to open a new place in the middle of a downward spiral?

There are many factors at play, but Lynette pointed out one that hadn’t occurred to me. When the bottom fell out of the traditional cannabis market, those friendly hill folk didn’t have buckets of cash to spread around every fall. I can personally vouch for the increase in spending at Wild Oak every October and November. Time to rethink our county ordinance which is still depriving a path to legitimacy for an entire industry and its many spin-offs in manufacturing, testing, packaging, etc…What do you say, supervisors?

It's Good to UNPLUG and Go Sit Quietly in the Warm California Sunshine. Listening to the Geese at the Farm next door... and the Frogs... and the Guys Chainsawing Firewood...

This is Called "ME TIME." Observing the Vineyards, the Trees, The Little Chirping Birds... And Everyone Loves The Sound of a Harley in the Distance... 

It's all Just Grist for the Mill. At First, I was Angered about having to Listen to The Annoying Sound of an Internal Combustion Engine but then... I remembered days when I was Chainsawing Firewood for My Own Wood Burning Stove in My Own House in Virginia. While Tripping on Heavenly Blue Morning Glory Seeds... We went out to Mountains near the EPIC Shenandoah Valley... and Stopped at Luray Caverns... and took a Rubber Life Raft Ride down the Shenandoah River past Harper's Ferry and Continuing Down the Potomac... We say a Couple of Men Fishing in a Homemade Boat coustructed out of a single sheet of plywood. Saw Off a foot on each side, turn them up and nail 'em in place, Caulk and You Have a Boat... Harper's Ferry is Where John Brown Had a Civil War Battle. It had a Factory that MADE RIFLES. The North was able to Shoot Farther with Rifles than the South could using Muskets. A Northern Soldier could stand OUT of Range and Kill the Enemy. Technology Helped the North Win the Civil War.

As I Walked Down Stream past the Vineyards, I Noticed an Orange Tree, Fully Loaded with Ripe Fruit. We Eat Oranges Every Day Here... After all, They are Very Cheap at the Farmers Market. On the TV I Noticed that "Those People Over There Were Behaving Crazy" so I Changed the Channel... to Classic Rock Music Choice... It's True that What Trump and His Band of Flying Monkeys Have Almost No Effect on My Life... Unless they Bankrupt The US Economy and Cause Global Collapse... Personally, I'm on Medicare (65 Years Old) and so If The rest of the Country Embraces Improved Obamacare or Medicare For All, I'm Not Effected. Certainly TrumpCare Would be a Disaster... Millions of People Dying Young... I DO Care that Social Security and Medicare are Under Attack by Trump's Evil Minions. I DO Care that They are Destroying the Environment and Drinking Water Could Become Poisonous... One of My Care Givers Lives Near McClellan Air Force Base and Everyone is Told to NOT DRINK THE WATER that comes out of the Tap... However, they still Shower in Toxic Waste... and That's Horrible... I DO Care that Trump is ANTI-Choice and Plans to Overturn Roe v Wade and Force Women to Give Birth to Unwanted Babies... "It's Back to The Coat Hanger" with Evil Brat Kava Kava Noogie and the Just-Us of the SCOTUS.

Digital Lotus Card for sale... 

Two Sided Card... Unfold and Thumbtack it to Your Wall for an Instant Visual Mantra... Just Look at it and You are Blessed With Bliss!

Click on the Picture to see the Back Side Art!

Digital Lotus Card
by gregvan

Original Art For Sale...
and there is a different picture on the back of the Greeting Card... a Rainbow Spiral...

"Art in the Time of Coronavirus" Holiday Card
by gregvan

Memories of my Father, Justin Duff (Van) Vanderlaan and Stories of Los Gatos, Saratoga, CA - Family Photographs and Emails

One of the things Dad and I loved to do (in his Eighties) was to sit on a bus stop bench and have significant conversations. He always ended the conversation by asking the question. "Did we solve the problems of the world today?" Our favorite place was in "The Heart of the Willows". We sat very close to the school Mom went to as a child. There was an excellent coffee shop (Le Boulanger) and we would get some to go and talk for hours at the corner of Lincoln and Minnesota Ave. It was a warm and sunny place. Willow Glen is a part of Our Family for Generations. Especially Mom's side. I lived there, too. 

Justin Duff Vanderlaan
and my sister in law Beth Deahl

Another place we liked to sit on a park bench was overlooking The Mouth of the Mad River near Arcata, California. We sat on the top of the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and could hear the seals bark. It is actually quite difficult to find The Mouth of the Mad as the location changes constantly. Victoria, Dad and I took a short level hike and she left us to sit on the park bench to "Solve the problems of the World." 

Gregory, Vanessa, Nicole and Justin Vanderlaan

During the last decade of his life we communicated using email about 3 times a week. Often it was about the weather or the Goddamn Computer but it was some contact. We would have debates, recommend books, choose winners on the stock market... I remember recommending that he buy Varian and it went up. Playing the Stock Market with Dad was fun.

Nicole, Vanessa and Martin Vanderlaan

Justin Vanderlaan, Bonita Post and Nicole Vanderlaan

Justin and Martin Vanderlaan

Hi all,

Vanessa and Patti have been working on a hoop skirt, petticoat and supporting hoops for "appropriate attire" for the Dickens Faire at the Cow Palace yesterday.  It all came together as you can see in the dressing photos.

Marty

Vanessa and Patti Post Vanderlaan

Vanessa Vanderlaan at the Dicken's Faire at the Cow Palace in San Francisco Modeling a Home Made Hoop Skirt made by Patti Post Vanderlaan

EMAILS Written by My Father:

Dear Martin & Patti & Greg:

      The other day I noticed on the blue table in the kitchen a hand  

held fire extinguisher.  I went down to the fire house on Winchester,  

and asked if they thought it needed to be recharged, since it has been  

in the house for 50 years.  They said absolutely!,  but had no  

recommendations as to where it could be done. (they are not allowed to  

recommend private companies}.  I went to the hardware and bought  

another for less than 15 Dollars.  They said to call the County about  

safe disposal.  I looked them up in the phone book, and the only place  

is in Sunnyvale, along the  bay, so I made a reservation for Today at  

10 am.  I talked to someone at Rotary on Tuesday, and they advised me  

that the County charges $20 for disposal of hazardous materials.  

Friday, I called and cancelled my appointment.  Later that day I  

received an unsolicited letter saying that the hazardous materials  

section of the County was having a free disposal in Los Gatos on  

Saturday morning, so I went down this morning and gave them the  

extinguisher.  No problem!  Dad

Dear Greg:

      I have now completed giving to you 20,000 dollars worth of 

General Electric Stock.  These shares are yours.  You can do with them 

as you please.  If you wanted to sell them etc, contact Edward Jones & 

co.  They hold the stock certificates for you.  The dividends will be 

mailed directly to you from the Jones office in New York.  My feeling 

was 1. to reduce my taxable estate, 2. give you some dividend paying 

stock, which is sure to continue paying dividends no matter what the 

state of the U.S. economy.  Happy New Year.  Dad

Greg: (about his trip to Eureka)

      While there I went on two bus trips with local guides.  The one 

after we left company toured all the old houses in town, and the guide 

explained who had lived there and why the architecture was unique. 

Quite enlightening.  Then the guide dropped off in town.  This might 

be something you and Vic would find interesting.  I sure the Chamber 

of Commerce knows when trips are available for locals.  The other went 

to Lolita, and basically told me what you had already commented on, 

with some additional comments on a flood a few winters ago.  Then it 

went on to the Redwoods , with a good lecture  on the trees.  The 

guide dropped off in some small town just South of there.  Dad

I told the family... 
We met at the Bear River Casino where he was staying at their hotel. It is on a hill overlooking the Eel River Valley. Home of many dairy farms... Mild climate and plenty of rain makes this an Ideal place to live if you are a cow or a Dairy Farmer. We drove around the Eel River Valley looking at the cows, mountains and Victorian Ferndale. My new Ford Winstar Van is a great place to sit and view the world passing by. BIG windows in front and warm. It's too cold outside to walk around comfortably.

Then we visited the Loleta Cheese Factory. The vast majority of out time was spent talking. We went out to lunch at Eureka's Village Pantry, my favorite restaurant. Then viewed some construction sites. Federal funding has allowed the city to build many new buildings on the waterfront. Then we met up with the bus and he re-joined his tour. 

They went to The Trucker's Christmas Parade... Lights on 18 wheeler trucks...

Greg:

       I am home safe & sound.  Everything we went well.  We saw the parade across from the Safeway parking lot.  Safeway full, but, our bus driver persuaded to gas station owner to let us see it  from the bus, (good view)  Were we ever lucky that you saw the bus at the bay front parking lot.  We might have  hell of a time finding it, because they left shortly thereafter and roamed around Eureka looking at the old houses.  You might have ended taking me back to the hotel.  God guys get the breaks sometime.  At 93 (the 19th), one never knows how long we have together.  Enjoyed my visit with you.   Dad

Email written by Cousin Dian Combs of Baltimore. 

Hi Marty & Patti,

Good to hear from you. Adorable picture of Cadence with her Aunt Vanessa!! Nice to catch up on the family news. Glad to hear Nicole and Brodie are having another child, I've always enjoyed having a brother. Speaking of my brother George, he now has a great grandson and soon to have a great granddaughter!! How about that! I had wanted my sons to marry and have children, but it wasn't in the cards, at least I have my stepson and his family (wife, 11 yr. old daughter & 3.5 yr old son) and my stepdaughter (who is not married anymore, but has 2 daughters, one about to turn 11 and the other 6) These are my grandchildren and I love them as much as if they were from my sons.

I've been very busy with real estate and may never retire!! Because I like to go on vacations with my friends. This year we flew to Boston, then cruised up to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, then spent 2 days in Boston. This coming April we are going to Cabo San Lucas on the Baja coast, then I am flying up to California and if you folks are in town in early May, maybe I can visit?

Your Dad is amazing! He has good genes! Hopefully you and Greg got those genes!! Would love to visit with him too.

Got to run, have an appt for my 'fun job', I'm with a small theatre group in my neighborhood and we are putting on another play which starts 12/14 and runs through 1/13/13, this time I'm just helping out with the lobby area. Last show in October I did all the props, moving them on and off stage in between acts, etc. It was exhausting but rewarding.

Hope to see you soon, Love, Dian

Martin Wrote:

Hi Dad, Nicole, and Greg,

 

As per our usual habbit, Vanessa and I celebrated my birthday by going to a Cal Bears football game.  This time it happened to be a night game (the TV Gods decide that) against Oregon, probably the best team in the nation.  The new stadium is great.  A very nice improvement.  We went early enough to walk around Berkeley a bit and explore the new stadium.  Then we watched the game and boy was it COLD.  We both had thermal underwear on under our jeans and ski jackets, hand hats and gloves.  Still cold.  We eventually left early in the 4th quarter, with Cal behind 45-17. 

 

Vanessa has a long time friend from the Lair, who is now a sophomore at Cal, and plays trombone in the band.  They were able to meet up during the 3rd quarter.  She looked very good in her band uniform. 

 

Took BART both ways - standing room only both ways.  Lots of riders with Green and Gold "O"s and Blue and Gold, too.  All and all a good evening, but I went to bed in my thermal underwear and sweatshirt to try to get warm. 

 

Go Bears,

M

Vanderlaan Family Collage for Dad's Coffee Cup.
Gregory, Marguerite, Justin, Vanessa, Nicole, Martin, Patty, Victoria, Brodie and Patty's Mom, Bonita.

Vanderlaan Family Chart
Click on the Picture to See it Bigger.

Dad told me that it's pretty easy to predict which horse will win the race, but then you spend your whole life at Bay Meadows. Not a great way to live. 

Brodie Smith, Nicole Vanderlaan Smith, Cadence and Reese

I remember Dad bought a book on Amazon and had it shipped to me called "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America" by Senator James Webb. An insightful book about our ancestors. He also bought "The Kite Runner" by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. An autobiography. Part of the book takes place at the San Jose Flea Market where the Author met his wife. 

****** (~);-} ******

I remember that the Swings at Oak Meadow Park were Taller than Standard Swings. There was a Metal Bar in the shape of an Arc that held the Chains. I would crawl over That Bar. I also swung as High as I Could and then JUMPED! Hurt to land but I did not break any Bones... so I did it again. 

I remember The Slot Car Racetrack on Main Street Near the High School. 1970. It was as large as a Basketball court. You rented a Car and Put it on the slot and there was a controller that regulated how fast the car went. Go too fast and the Car Flipped... 

When I went to West Valley Junior College I Took a Class in Architectural Scale Model Building. I took Blueprints of a Cabin my Father was having built on North Shore, Lake Tahoe and Built an Accurate Scale Model of it. Dad showed it to his friends and clients... Just to explain what he was having Built... In Retrospect, THAT would have been an EPIC Career... Building Models... Mostly the Professional Career Path was building Models of Oil Refineries... as a way to CHECK if the design was accurate... much cheaper to find errors on a Model than actually build the real thing and find out, OOPS! ---- During the Free time I Had Between Classes I went to the Library and Drew Pictures, Cartoons, Designs ART... while wearing Headphones... My Favorite was 'Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin... Astonishing on Headphones because of a lot of Left-Right Ping Ponging and Phase-Shifter Effects on the Drums... Try it!

Fred Capp: I also took that class and another one when I was studying at UA Fairbanks. This came in handy when I was working for a company that was supposed to build a parking garage and we couldn't quite make out where what was supposed to be. The thing simply had no level floors and no one had ever seen that design before. I was able to build the model (a rough one as I was both out of practice and lacking in certain materials) and we could see just what the designer wanted.

I did build a Scale Model at work when I was at Analytics Communications Systems in McLean Virginia. We were selling a Computer that Did Not Exist yet and so the Advertising Department took a Photo of my model and we pretended to have a Product..  Sadly, the glue came apart and a corner of the model separated... and the Photo in the Ad Looked like a Fake Scale Model... OOPS... We didn't get that contract. However, I did get to go visit a Giant scale model factory when we were selecting if we wanted to do the work in house or hire professionals to make the model. That Company did Models for the Smithsonian. EPIC Dioramas...  

I remember buying a slice of Redwood Burl at That Store/Gallery on Highway 9 directly across the Street from San Lorenzo High School. We were taking a Stained Glass Window Making Class at West Valley Junior College Night School. I made a Red Rose Framed by that Burl... and it hung in the Window of my Father's House for decades... and... I noticed the ERROR I made in the construction of that window... and it bugged me for about 10 seconds every time I saw it... I also made a Clock from a slice of Burl... and It hung in the Living Room... The School was right next door to a drive in Movie Theater and at Night we could walk over and see the movies without paying. Saw "Carrie" there... My Father Bought a Stained Glass Window for His Office from Mike Coolie... a Business Expense and Fully Tax Deductible because it Had the Name J.D.Vanderlaan - Realtor Etched into the window...