Days Long Gone

Who isn't familiar with the Grauman's Chinese Theater. When I was a kid I got to see the original Parent Trap with Hayley Mills at this fabulous theater. After the movie was over, my mother would take us to Denny's for a burger.



It's amazing to me that when I think about growing up a great many of my memories are associated with food. I guess that says something about me...L.O.L.

One of my fondest memories is of my sister and I being taken to a place called Trader Vic's as kids (no, not Trader Joe's, Trader Vic's) for dinner. Trader Vic's has locations in a lot of different cities, but this one was in Beverly Hills on the corner of Wilshire Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd, in walking distance from our apartment.

Tahitian or French Polynesian food is known throughout the world because of its exotic fruits, fresh fish and vegetables which are prepared with a strong French influence underlying the Tahitian ingredients. Trader Vic's has a distinctively Polynesian decor and as a kid I thought it was totally exotic. My favorite part of the dinner was when the waiter brought out a bowl of huge fresh strawberries with a bowl of sour cream and brown sugar for dipping. Yum.

I also have fond memories of taking long walks into town from the apartment we lived in growing up. We would discreetly peek into the windows of apartments and houses where the lights were on just to see what kind of decor people had. We would make a game out of guessing what the parents of those families did for a living. Our destination was always the same ice cream parlor called Wil Wrights. They had the most delicious hot fudge sundaes served with real whip cream and a little macaroon cookie that was wrapped in a darling little envelope with the cute little angel on the front that you see below.



And then, there was the Hamburger Hamlet where I spent all my babysitting money on the weekends where we would order burgers and cherry cokes. I believe there are a few Hamburger Hamlets still in existence, but all my favorite ones are now gone.

When my sister and I got colds or just didn't feel well my mother would run out to the Hamlet and bring back the Hamlet's onion fondue soup and egg custard lulu to make us feel better. My mother firmly believed that onions have some magical healing powers and the egg custard had lots of protein from the eggs, even if it was smothered with whip cream and graham cracker crumbs.

The custard below is missing the yummy topping, but you get the idea.
One of my mother's clients was Mrs. Helms from the Helms Bakery empire. I will never forget visiting the house that the family had lived in since their children were born and admiring the family heirlooms and pristine antiques. It made quite an impression on me.

The best thing about the Helm's Bakery was the truck that came around after school everyday in my neighborhood.

This is just how it looked.
The truck was always filled with delicious cream puffs and eclairs and donuts to delight any child appetite.
When I wasn't busy eating I played a whole lot of jacks. In fact, I played for hours on end...just loved that game.
Besides playing Jacks I loved stopping in the Beverly Hilton Hotel to buy gum that looked liked little nuggets of gold. I could pretend I was rich and had won millions panning for gold during the Gold Rush.
Remember these~
Every Saturday my mother had to work privately, after working a forty hour work week to make ends meet, so before my mother went off to see her private clients, she would drop my sister and I off at the local laundry mat to do a weeks worth of laundry. It made my sister and I feel very responsible and grown up.

Mom was no dummy though, she knew how to motivate us. She either gave us money to get a donut at the bakery next to the coin operated laundry mat or she gave us a bag full of donut holes like the ones you see below.

Remember the Beach Boys song that went something like "when her Daddy takes the T-bird away"? Well, my girlfriend had a T-bird, like the one you see below, when we first learned to drive. Eventually, the fun stopped when my girlfriend committed some infraction of the rules and her Daddy did take that T-bird away. Parents were really strict back when I was a teenager. Boo hoo!

The girl standing next to me was my friend that I played Jack's with all the time. To the right of me is Troy Donohue standing next to my sister. He was the teenage heart throb of my day.

I think the car we are standing in front of is the same make and model of the pink Cadillac you see below.