Your Stories

• 05/01/12 Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Jo Anne Q. - lapichon2<at>yahoo.com
• 05/02/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Joe McCullar
• 05/02/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Steve
• 05/02/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Mary-Ann
• 05/02/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Jo Anne Q.
• 05/03/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Charles
• 05/03/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Patrick
• 05/03/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Karen K
• 05/03/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Mark
• 05/04/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Mary-Ann
• 05/04/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Jo Anne Q.
• 05/04/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by jb
• 05/04/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Mary-Ann
• 05/04/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Jo Anne Q.
• 05/06/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Paul Rosenberg
• 05/21/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by W.M.
• 05/21/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by Mary-Ann
• 05/23/12 Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2 - posted by jb

Re: Frank's ABCs Part 2

Thanks, Charles for the interesting history of the phonograph and the Victrola - on my 18th birthday the folks gave me a combination radio/phonograph - table model, one of my favorite ever gifts - played a lot of records on that. Took it with me when I married.

Growing up 10 or 15 years ahead of Frank, there were some differences in our everyday life. Yes, we called it 'dinner', too - Mom worked a lot, Grandma cooked. We never had steak, lots of beef or fish, vegs, potatoes, seldom pasta and always an individual salad. Variations on a lettuce leaf were tomatoes, canned peaches/pears/pineapple with a spoonful of cottage cheese & a small dollop of mayo with a cherry on top or my favorite, banana cut in half then sliced lenthwise covered in mayo and rolled in chopped peanuts. Tomato aspic I couldn't handle. I never heard of a pizza then.

Our paper was the Call Bulletin - afternoon was preferred and always the Sunday Examiner until the two biggies combined. When I worked at the Balboa theater on Sat nights an older man always set up to sell the Examiner to those leaving the theater. He must have done OK, since he was there every week. We got our news and home entertainment from the radio and went to Minchin's Pharmacy on 37th and Balboa with the 620 film from the Brownie box camera to get developed.

Mom drove a Buick - Grandma had an old Plymouth during the War. She even rode horseback in her younger years - her horse was named Captain. That's still hard for me to imagine, but I have an old photo of her on Captain. She and my Dad were the smokers, too. Mom didn't drink - never liked the taste nor did she smoke. They all played cards - bridge, pinochle, gin, cribbage and the men played poker - I learned to play from them.

Yes - rain was just a part of life. Aside from being trucked to school from the Presidio I never got a ride to or home from school in my life - we walked. Unfortunately, times are different now.

Dad was not a handyman, didn't paint or garden. Mom painted and hung wallpaper - except for the area of the stairway upstairs - she hired someone to wallpaper that. And the yard was kind of a mess. They concreted the postage-stamp lawn areas in the front. We had shades, not venetian blinds and never had gates on the house.

My brother, John won a trophy at the Loop (Cabrillo Playground) in a Yo-Yo tournament back in the '50s.