Girl Scouts

In the beginning of fifth grade there was a flyer for Girl Scouts. But too no avail, there was no such group where I lived. But I could join Campfire Girls. I didn't care one way or the other. I just wanted to belong. None of the students were from my school. Now that I think about it, they all attended private school. So I went to the first meeting. It was on Judah Street. I walked. I really liked the leader and she was interested in me. I told my story. After a few times, I was invited to dinner. They had a Jaguar. We went up and down the hills of San Francisco. It was at night. My parents felt safe because I was with adults. I was suppose to be impressed. I was not. I did like all the special attention I was getting. I never thought that not everybody would be treated that way. I do remember a backyard; which is unusual for S.F., and I remember a see-saw. I remembered liking their son and we would often ride that see-saw. I remember nothing about the girl. I don't even know her name. I did remember watching out the front window and watching the street cars go by. I was fascinated.

I can't remember what else we did, but I remember that ride. So that was part of my extra-curricular activity.

S.F. Giants

My dad religiously followed the San Francisco Giants. Not a sound was to be heard when he played from his portable radio. Alas, my dad got tickets for a double header between my fourth and fifth grade. I was so excited! We all loved baseball. We all loved the San Francisco Giants.

I don't remember why; some things I do forget the details, but, I got a shot that was to be an antibiotic. I just remembered getting a shot in my rump, sort of. The person who administered the shot, hit a muscle. I no longer could walk. Well, that was the excuse my dad needed not to take me. After all, it was a double-header and I probably would not have the patience to go through two games. My mother did not give any protest, as usual. My dad was relieved, and my mom was left with the guilt. So, Saturday I limped to the theater. My mom accompanied me to the theater. She gave me the money and did not attend herself. After all, it had been her life and she could not speak the language. Consequently, I saw many a movie that was inappropriate for my age group. To be truthful, there was no rating system at that time. My dad certainly didn't care. All the neighborhood kids went because it was such a bargain.

The Endless Summer

Joe put a lot of effort in what he did. He introduced me to new arts & crafts to make key chains. I found it fascinating and made them in every color combination. He also announced that we would get to go to the Giants baseball game. Wow. It was for the first time that I was introduced to board games; Monopoly especially fascinated me. winning was my goal. It kept us out of the heat. We played in the recreation room. I learned to play Scrabble. I really liked that. Joe was the constant in our life. We did not want to leave. We were the latch key kids.

Lunch consisted of walking down to Kirkham street, get our bologna sandwich, snowballs, and our RC Cola. This is where we also bought our baseball cards. I had 25 cents a day. I was careful to keep that quarter everyday. I even chewed the bubblegum.

I don't remember on my last post, but the shoe of choice were flip-flop, except we called them by a different name. They were cheap; less than a $1.00. Consequence for someone who had never been in the sun before was to get blisters on my feet. Yes, third degree. My family was apprehensive of the health services of the US. After all, they could be treated at home. I did not complain, but did take to note.