There were many characters to this story, but the main individuals who make all this possible are as follows.
Jerry aka:Jersey
One of my best friends. Although we lost touch for some 20 plus years, we have since found one another again and it feels like we never lost that friendship.
Jerry was, and still is, funny, intelligent, extremely likable, and easy to get along with. He had Clark Gable good looks with a touch of Jackson brown for flavor. He had a personality that attracted you to him. He always had a quick wit, and could bust out a Bob Dylan tune at a moments notice. He always had good advice, but let you make the choice. Jerry was a stratagist, always thinking way ahead. It seemed to work for him best. We had some great times together. Times I will never forget.
Mary
Mary was one the sweetest,beautiful, caring individuals I have ever known. She was my friend, lover, and confidant. Always analytical, she would think seriously about any change she was thinking of making, discuss it, break it down, investigate the pros and con's, and based on the conclusion, she seemed to always make the right decision.
Mary was, part moon child, part teacher. you could always go to her with any problem and she would not judge you, but give you solid advice. We had great times together, and I have only one regret, that I would of been grown up enough to not have let her get away.
Brigid
Brigid was a total people person. There was not one person who ever had a bad thing to say about her. She was sexy, alluring, and had a mysterious quality about her that made you want to get to know her better. She, like Mary, would sit with you and take a seemingly uninteresting topic, and turn it into the greatest story ever told. She had the gift of persuasion. She could sell a chicken farmer a wolf, and make him feel good about it. She was the den mother of the group, and I will always cherish her.
Lisa
Lisa was an interesting one. Very quiet, and unimposing, but behind all that there was a libiditive aura around her. She was a combination of Mother Theresa, and Farah Faucet.No, more like Melanie Griffith, deffinetly Melanie. She believed in all that was spiritual, and treated herself and others with great respect. Lisa found beauty in all things. She was truly one of Gods chosen children, and I'd bet a dollar on a dime, she chose a life that helps mankind.
Bob
Bob, was and it appears still is the adverturer. He was always up for doing something a bit out of the norm. Looking for mushrooms(magic) in cow fields, jumping off cliffs in La Costa, or just taking his honda 360 anywhere east of Cardiff were just a few of the spur of the moment things he was known to do.
He was the prankster of the "landlords" that oversaw the house as well as the property below where people came to stay for varying lenths of time. He was always up to something in a playful way, and always had a smile that curled up on one side when the joke was in play, and an addictive laugh when the gag was sprung, or when laughter was the best medicine. Bob did have a serious side to him and his advise was always well recieved and taken. He was and still is one of my lifetime best friends.
Mickey(aka Micbok)
Mickey was a study in human evolution, and I mean that in a good way. He was way ahead of the curve in a darwinian sense. His mind was always moving faster the anyone around him, and you could always tell when you were about to recieve a dose of his well meaning jest. I swear, if I didn't know better Mickey was part cyborg. He was extremely witty, full of all kinds of facts and figures, had a great sense of humor, and you had to be on top of your game to go into a battle of wits with him. All in all he was a great friend who would go out of his was to help you out of a jam. I will never forget him.
Bridget
Bridget was a playful, fun loving lady. As Mary said "she was the voice of reason" for all of us. She was the ever ready battery of speech. Get her started and she would go on, and on, and on, but you never got bored with what she had to say. The only thing that slowed her down was vodka, and then she got funny and playful. She, like mickey,(who have been married for some 20+ years), would do anything for you, always had your back, and I dont think I ever heard her say anything bad about anyone. She will always hold a special place in my heart.
There were so many others that played a part in those days. Dana Boomhower, Joe Boardman and his sidekick Bob, Mikey the comedian, Lonny Richards, leader of our house band, and Larry and his dog Oso from Montaug, N.Y., the southern bell of which I regret I forgot her name, Marilyn, the cross eyed wonder, Dave Plumber, "Hang the Canook", Cosmo, the Atascadero Mental Hospital graduate, and who can forget, and I would be amiss if I didn't mention "The Bush Rats" whom made our days just a little more exciting. Thanks to you all for making my life so interesting.
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Excerpts from letters from 1978 ..... in no particular order.
ReplyDeleteDear Mary,
More good news. The Marshall was just here. You have a $30 warrant out for your arrest because of a failure to appear or failure to pay a fine for dogs on the beach.
He instructed me to tell you that you should either call or write Oceanside Municipal Court, enclose with your letter %30.00. They will schedule you for court when you return to Cardiff. Take care of it or if you are stopped they will transport you back to San Diego. Har Har.
That's All. Have a Nice Day.
PS I am proud to say that Larry has fallen from his altar. He and Oso are back in the house with us partying it up. Lots of peyote around. Been up for a day and a half. Worked five hours today, the stuff is great. Mark Casey and Bob are going to be coming down, having a barbeque in the afternoon and spend the rest of the night at the fair. Wish you were here. Have a nice fourth where ever you are.
Bye - Bob
....more to come
Gee... Love the "Har Har.." What a nice guy! LOL
ReplyDeleteI've never been a good writer so this is a little difficult for me. I also wrote something last month and it blew up without saving. Grrrr, I was so mad.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look back on Cardiff, I have such good memories. I was so lucky to be there at that time in my life. I learned so much about what was important to me, how I wanted to live the rest of my life, and of course, what I didn't like.
So what did I learn? I learned to develop my own set of values that weren't necessarily those of my parents, teachers, and friends that I grew up with. I met people who had a different way of looking at life, I would think "that's interesting", put it in the back of my mind for later.
For some of my friends I was Mother Mary. I was more conservative, on the fringes of the wild things we sometimes did. For my family, I was the black sheep, completely out of control.
I really was someone just trying to be happy, that's all. Did I ever achieve that in Cardiff. I think so.
My favorite thing was sitting at the campfire in our front yard listening to someone play the guitar. That was the best thing in the world. I still love it.
I also loved the morning, getting up going to the donut shop for a large coffee and a donut. That was my big spend of the day. It was quiet in the morning. Sometimes I would drink my coffee at the beach. It just didn't get any better than that.
The dogs. I absolutely loved all the dogs! They each had their own personality and created hours of entertainment.
Talking to different people, understanding their point of view, long conversations about philosophy, that was also just wonderful.
If I was so content, why did I leave and go to Oregon? I thought it could get better, I could somehow find even more happiness and contentment. That's all it ever was for me.
In the end I found that first glimpse of what happiness, peace, and contentment were for me. I had completed that search for the "what". So I left it all behind to continue that pursuit of "how" to accomplish it.
The reason it all worked out was because my friends were with me to share it. I adored all of my friends. We were together meeting new people, sitting by the campfire, and walking on the beach. So, in the end, it really was the people who helped me in my search for happiness and peace.
Bob - for keeping things fun. He taught me not to worry so much about everything. He was kind, generous, and cared a lot about me. At the time, I loved him very much.
Brigid - for keeping things interesting. We had such a great time in all our adventures. I could sit for hours and just listen to her talk.
Lisa - for boosting me up. She always had nice things to say, was always available if I needed someone to talk to. It's a shame we lost touch but I know she continues to be a wonderful, kind, generous person.
Joe - for questioning everything. "Why do you think that way". It taught me to understand more about different points of view.
Cosmo - for making me feel like a queen, someone special.
Gerry - for giving me someone to laugh with, I just loved being around him. We had so much fun.
Bridget - for being the voice of reason. She was a great friend.
Mickey - for his sense of humor and quick wit. He could sometimes jab at people but he still cared.
All the others who would give you their last dime if you needed it, and be happy with nothing but the campfire, the ocean, the dogs, and all the wonderful people.
Mary,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the imput. Your thoughts and kind words mean alot to all of us. You are not a bad writer, your a great writer.You should do more of it.
Who is CrossStitchNerd?
ReplyDeleteJerry,
ReplyDeletethat was a very nice summary. The reason I was out in the cow fields was to obtain cow pie. we mailed out for spores from high times magazine, and grew them in the fridge at a perfect 65 deg. ..lol....the look on peoples faces when they opened up the fridge to get a beer or something, and saw a cow pie with shrooms growing out of it was priceless.
My personal journey began in Sept. 1977. My girlfriend and most my close friends had moved to Pacific Beach, Ca. a suburb of San Diego. Situated north of the city, it was a popular nesting ground for students attending the university, and most all the junior colleges that populated the area. Pacific Beach also afforded easy access to Mission Bay and Fiesta bay, a favorite party spot among the locals, as well as easy access to the beach where we spent most our time.
ReplyDeleteI had decided to try school, and since most of my closest friends were already established, it was a logical choice. My parents were very concerned about my wild lifestyle and were more then happy to accommodate me in this new venture. They pretty much paid for the whole works, providing I stayed in school. Well, that lasted about a semester. I soon fell into my old ways, and lost interest in acquiring a proper education. Let’s face it, when your favorite class was volleyball, and was the only class you had perfect attendance to, college was not the thing for me. In retrospect, not pursuing an education was one of my regrets. I know now that an education is very important for the mind and body, as well as for ones personal future. Oh well, shoulda, woulda, coulda. This brings me to the next facet of my life.
Oh dad...the things I continue to learn about you. I'm still as proud as ever to be your daughter as you are to be my father! However, hearing about how to grow shrooms...one endeavor you never taught me. I love you...these pictures are hilarious and it sounds like those were some fun times for you and everyone! I love you.
ReplyDeleteSan Elijo was for a brief moment our home. It was where travlers from all over stayed. Our front yard was the beach and behind us Cardiff by the Sea. Bob and I had heard about it through friends that during the winter months you could stay there for 28 days at a time, move out for a day and move back in. Something about an old vagrancy law. Anyway, being a bit down on our luck (no money,no place to go)we decided to move there and live the rugged life. We acquired a tent (I believe it was lisa's families) and proceeded to make camp. It was an eight man canvas tent with enough room to stand up in. We had two cots and a table between them. We had arrived and quickly made freinds with all the other long term campers. We would go to the beach during the day and plan on who's site we would go to at night. It was a little beach community for the vagabounds. We spent idle time in town visiting the friends we knew and the new ones we made. It was a simple time yet enlightening in that we met people who were from all over the country who had thier own agenda and at the same time a common ground we all stood on. There were no hidden meanings as we were all there to experience life on an altruistic plane. Then the rain came . . .
ReplyDeleteWhen the rain came everything changed forever! Our tent became one big puddle and all our belongings got wet, everyone in the camp grounds suffered the same plight. We hung out at VG donuts during the day and at 'The House' on the hill at night. Most of the windows in the house had been broken out by past residents so all of them were covered with a heavy milky plastic. So the wind would blow and the windows flucturated in and out,the rain pounded and we sang "Windy old weather, stromy old weather, when the wind blows we'll all go together" as we drank cheap beer and wine. So this went on for what seemed to be weeks and when it let up for a bit we would go to the camp grounds and salvage what we could. In the end as the strom moved on so did we and up to the house on the hill we went. Some of us moved into the house and the others set up camp on and around the property. The days of the compound began and now our days consisted of pretty much the same routine, beach during the day and sitting around the camp fire at night which was now in the front yard of the house. I suppose more detail about the house, the residents and experience needs to be told, but that is for another time and The rusted old Pontiac sitting in the front yard with what seemed to have hundreds of hachet holes will be a good place to start . . .
ReplyDeleteIt is the new year. 2012, Jan. 7, It has been awhile since my last post, and I apologize. I had some issues with my right eye, which did not allow me to function properly on a keyboard. Things are better now so I will continue onward.
ReplyDeleteBack in 1977, when this journey began, I had only one concern. I needed to see that whatever it was I was doing, went completely against the grain. On the grand scale of things, it meant society at large, and all things organized. On a personal level, it meant sometimes going against the very people I cohabitated with, my family.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in what we use to cal the "Concrete Jungle" of Whittier Cal. I began to look for fresher air, and greener pastures as early as 1968. I loved the occasional field or creekbed that I would stumble upon in the endless miles of roads and hiways where we lived. I could never comprehend why my parent would pull up stakes, and move us to the city. Dad owned a truck painting operation in L.A., and I found myself living with disdain for my family.