The trip to California , part 3

In 1968, we had tremendous change taking place. RFK and MLK had been assassinated . I was going into what was then called junior high starting in the 7th grade. It was the last summer of True Childhood. Adolescence was not what it was cracked up to be, it was worse.

We stayed in Yuma AZ in a hotel as mentioned in part two. Good thing too, it was getting hotter than Death Valley in that area in the middle of July.

I remember going over the Hoover Dam on the way. Hearing lots of popular songs on the radio. Glen Campbell, Where's the Playground Susie and Dreams of an everyday Housewife," "Classical Gas," instrumental by Mason Williams of Smothers Bothers fame. Herb Alpert's brand new This Guy's in Love, and MacArthur Park, the 7 minute song by Richard Harris. And missing a few episodes of the Prisoner that summer. A brand new short series with Patrick McGooghan ...

We stopped somewhere an hour away from Lyle Bond's house to get a drink of water in the shade. It was 110 degrees out, the water was warm and the air conditioned white Oldsmobile was the place to stay. Dad actually called Vi Bond and said we were nearby. We got there and for the next 3 days had quite a bit of fun. Swimming in the pool, going to the San Diego Zoo.

The next activities are not necessarily in order:

We took a tour of a television station where Lyle worked on sports announcing and reporting. Incidentally, that is the TV station where Regis Philbin had worked before becoming Joey Bishop's late night sidekick. It was, it was also at that moment he walked off the Bishop set and Lyle and his co-workers were gossiping about it as we toured the place. then Lyle took us to some marina or club and we had fruit drinks. Some of this is on film. earlier this year Steve and I tried to figure out where that was or is because it had a spiral staircase tower that was used on Mod Squad and that other show with the two brothers in the 80's. I forgot the name of the show. I have a home movie of the place but don''t think there is an identifying sign. Rusty and David went along with us to all these places, the zoo, the seaside, the marina club or whatever it was. so those may have been on one day, and the TV station another. I think Rusty was with us at the ball game too.

Lyle also took us to the Pacific Ocean, just to say we had been there and seen it. some rocky area, maybe a city or county park. I know he had driven us around a lot that day. He played piano for us briefly, and also told and shared old stories of naughty things he did when he was a kid with Paul Timlin, and they both had some laughs late at night. Little did they know, Dan and I were listening at 1:30 am, laughing to ourselves. Equally at Lyle and Paul. Boy we were sunburned, even with Zinc Oxide available. in some of the photos and movies you can see Dan with the Zinc Oxide on his cheeks and nose...he burned more easily than I did.

Then we went to a Padres game , and the same night after the game went on a large yacht as guests of Lyle. Vi went along. We met a guy who had hit a home run that night, a black player of which I have no recollection of his name. We cruised the harbor for about 2 hours, ate food and had fun. That's all I remember.

We also met our cousins for probably the only time. Except I saw Vi, allen, David, and Allen's new wife Gloria in 1881 in Michigan. they had come to visit Margaret Allen. Vane Mickle, David, Paul Timlin and I played golf together that day. anyway, Allen and Linda his first wife were there at the pool party one day with their boys; Rusty was about 8 and David 2. Lyle played Tijuana Brass records while we frolicked in his pool. What a blast! It was "Tuff." We have home movies of the pool party. Lyle and Vi's daughter Susan was there also. Susan was college age by then, perhaps had just graduated (not sure, and had a girl friend she brought over one night, and Lyle had them sing a couple songs for us while I think Susan played guitar. Some kind of folk music. Then of the last day we all gathered for photos and film standing around the pool. Rusty cried, he did not want us to leave. I think he was overwhelmed he had 2nd cousins around his own age to play with and now they were leaving. Wish I could have stayed, beat the hell out of goin back to Michigan or to school. I guess he and David filled in for Steve and Cindy Hoover while they were in Germany that year.

A last comment - that was the last time any of us saw Lyle in person as he never came back to Michigan and died about 3 years later in Spring of 72. I think he was thrilled to see his sister again and Paul and kids. e was a master showman at entertaining his family from Michigan and I always appreciated his hospitality and really think now as I look back, he was better than Disneyland in a way, which was our next stop after 3 days. What a time that was....it will never happen again, and even then I knew it.

by mr. t

edited 8-15 for clarity...