From One Extreme to the Other
My father lost his job as a salesman for the Smith Corona Typewrite Company a few days after I was born. The year was 1930. The Great Depression hit so many families, and millions were out of work. I can remember vividly men coming to our back door asking for food. Mom always gave them something.
We lived in a very small house in the San Fernando Valley. The backyard was nothing but dirt with a rickety old fence that enclosed it. Acres of vegetable and fruit trees took up almost all the land in the valley.
During those years when money was scarce, my family would drive out to the fields and pick up, form the ground, the vegetables and fruit the pickers had left behind. I remember gathering up potatoes, squash, tomatoes and strawberries. The orange trees provided us with delicious oranges; the pickers left many of them behind.
And now - from one extreme to another - because at that very same time, my grandmother was the nanny and cook for Slim Somerville. He was an actor and was one of the "Keystone Cops." He also had a large role in the movie, "All Quiet on the Western Front." His home was in Toluca Lake and his neighbors were Bing Crosby and Walt Disney. Elliot, his adopted son, was my age so we would play together quite often. I remember when we were invited to the Somerville's home for Christmas brunch. Elliot had received a miniature carousel with three painted horses. As I sat on a horse and pumped the pedals, like a bicycle, the horses would go up and down and music played. It seemed so magical. I'll never forget it!
So, as I said before - from one extreme to another - a little house with a dirt yard and a rickety fence, to a huge home with a wonderful green yard, trees, and flowers next to famous movie stars. And while I looked forward to stepping into this other world, I was always happy to go home.
