Where did you grow up? Who were your parents? What kind of lifestyle did you live as a child?
I had a fascinating kick start to my on going life thanks to two great parents who were extroverted and very loving...
My Dad was from an area just outside of Detroit...He had three other brothers (he was the baby) and an old man who worked for Ford and blew the paycheck now and again on gambling and more...His Mom held them all together during those rough times and they all grew up good citizens of the US...
Dad went to war in Europe during the big one (WWII) and pounded on the typewriter to keep democracy alive and secure...I chatted with him several times about the war and each time he begged off telling me anything about his experiences...To this day I wonder why...Could he have been frustrated that he saw no action...I will never know...
He came back and took his vocal talent and started to sing professionally for St. Louis Municipal Opera and then on to the boards in the Big Apple...
Mom was born on a plantation in the heartland of Alabama and went to live with her namesake Uncle (Joe/Josephine) in Denver at age twelve...She traveled extensively (he had some serious bread) and took singing lessons...
Eventually she hit New York and got gigs in Broadway shows...She did matinée leads in the original production of "Carousel"...
Well, they meet and fell madly in love (a condition that lasted 51 more years) and then had a bouncing chubby boy in late '48...
Dad struggled to make it in the city by even doing lights in nightclubs, but alas they had to make a living and he moved on to many other jobs until finally landing in SF five years later...He joined the airline industry with Flying Tigers, a start up freight carrier with a base in the Bay Area...
Then several years later we moved to LA and he hooked up with KLM, the Dutch airline and started selling to travel agents in So Cal...
It was then we moved to Northridge in the SFV and I got my established roots by living on Garden Grove Avenue until I went off to college over ten years later...
This is round one of my parents "Roots" tale...Come back for more...
Oh, and tell your folks ya love them now and again...No need to wait until they are gone...Do it now and you'll feel so much better...I'm glad I did that...Real glad...
Ciao for now...
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