LIFE WITH MY CHILDREN PART 41

Not everything about our brief stay in California was bad. We actually did have some good times...especially when we, Joe, me and the kids, got out by ourselves away from the Kums.

We spent one Sunday in Tijuana. That day we took Pam with us and I had never seen so much happiness in that child. On the way down, we stopped at Capistrano but, of course, it was not the right time of the year to see the birds.

In Tijuana, we parked the car and walked...and walked...I don't think we missed a corner of that town. Downtown, itself, was only a few blocks ...with a circus-style atmosphere. Shop-owners..or their employees...would actually chase us down the sidewalk hawking their products. It was so colorful and noisy, we didn't know where to look first. One of the kids was constantly yelling for me to "Look, Mom...look."

We went into a liquor store to buy a small bottle of tiquilla as a souvenir. Buddy was amazed at the worm in each bottle. He asked the salesman what to do with the worm...and the salesman proceeded....as a wide-eyed eleven year old gaped...to take a big drink..and swallow the worm! Like Buddy, I didn't know whether to laugh or puke! We did buy a bottle of tequilla but I don't know what ever happened to it. We never opened it and as far as I know, left it at the Kums.

We stopped at an outdoors cafe and ordered real Mexican tacos...that tasted just like the ones at Taco Bell. And drank warm cokes with them. We could probably have gotten a glass of ice but were afraid of the water. Little Pam must have mentioned a dozen times during the day that we mustn't drink the water in Mexico.

It was late when we got home...to a lecture from Kuma about the next day being a school day, but we'd enjoyed the day so much, I just took Joey straight to bed, determined not to let her ruin my happy glow.

The second weekend we were there, Joe and the kids and I went to Los Angeles to see my cousin, Troy,Jr. and his family. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours with them...and went back once more while I was there. After that first visit, we left and went on a tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. We bought a map from a street vendor and drove by all the celebrity homes. We got a real thrill at Lucille Ball's house when we saw her get out of her car in her driveway. A lot of the homes were secluded behind walls and trees...but some, like Lucille Ball's were more open, visually. Buddy said he needed to use the bathroom and I dared him to go up and ring Lucille Ball's doorbell and ask her if he could use hers. Of course, he was too shy to do it.

We parked and walked down Rodeo Drive and window shopped. We fitted our feet in the footprints of the stars. And kept our eyes peeled watching for a celebrity but never saw nary a one. I took two rolls of pictures that, like the tiquilla, got left at Kums.

We never tired of the ocean. We had several overlook view points that we visited every day. When the kids got home from school, I would rush them into the car with me and Joey, and we'd take off for a couple of hours, sometimes just driving around...we especially liked to drive around Ojai...a beautiful area. Mostly, though, we'd park somewhere and just watch the ocean and the surfers.

Santa Barbara was just a half hour north of Ventura and we loved the beach and park there. That was where we spent most Saturdays. There was always exhibits by "starving artists" and I could spend hours just walking and looking at the paintings...but didn't get to. One, Joey was too rambunctious and two, Buddy and Tammy got bored looking at paintings. It was okay with me, I was just as happy to sit at a picnic bench while they ran and played on the beach.

One week we had a severe storm...well, actually the storm was out at sea. We had a lot of rain, but the waves were huge! The kids came home from school early because the waves were washing up to the road. They came home with stories about watching the waves out of the bus windows, that broke just a few feet from the road. I put them in the car and we drove as close to the ocean as we could...which wasn't very close as the police had the roads blocked. But we did get to a spot where we could park and watch the waves come in. There was a long pier, the length of several football fields, out into the ocean with many vendor booths on it. That pier was completely underwater. Houses up to three blocks from the beach were nearly underwater. In fact, Kum's house was on a hill and the water was at the bottom of the street. The next day all the water was gone...back into the sea.

I spent one unforgettable Satuday night there. Kums took Joe and me to a play and cast party afterwards at the Masquer's Club. I had read about the Masquers Club for years in Movie magazines and was thrilled to be able to actually see it. The play was good...Three on a Match...but the cast party was a night to remember...for me anyway. Because Kum Walter was a wheeler-dealer in real estate, he knew and often rubbed elbows (his phrase) with celebrities and political figures. He knew everybody!

After the play, we sat at a table with the female star of the show, Sandy Dennis and her husband. Sandy had a little boy the same age as Joey and we shared baby stories. She invited me to bring Joey over and we made a date for the following week.

Bob Denver was the male star of the show. I was shaking in my shoes when he asked me to dance...then kept me on the floor through at least six songs. He even asked me to leave and go someplace else with him and I said...okay, as soon as I ask my husband! Then I took him over the table where Joe was sitting with Kum Walter and several other men and introduced them.

Bob said after that, the least he could do was introduce me to the person who I had been watching all the time we were dancing. He took me to the bar and said, "Duke, I've got somebody here who wants to meet you." Believe me, I was so star-struck I couldn't breathe. John Wayne took my hand and said, "hello there, little lady." Bob Denver leaned down and whispered in my ear, "breathe!" I stood there for a few minutes while the two men talked..then John asked me who I was there with. I told him my husband, Joe, and pointed to the table where he was sitting...and John said, "Oh, he's with Walter"...and not in a pleasant tone. Just then Joe motioned for me to come there, so I said, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Wayne." To which he replied, "It's John, or Duke if you prefer." Then he kissed me...right on the lips" Just a quick peck...but still!! and said he was glad he met me, too.

I floated over to Joe's table where he and all the men, who had been watching my encounter my John Wayne, started teasing me about being kissed by the Duke, himself...and teasing Joe that he had some big boots to fill now.

Joey and I did go to visit Sandy Dennis, three different times. She was a wonderful, warm, generous, kind woman. And I don't know just what I expected a big star to be like, but she wasn't like one. She baked cookies and played with our babies. She gave Joey two outfits that were too big for her baby. The last visit to her house, I told her I was planning to leave the first of April and she said she was sorry to hear that and would miss our weekly visits. We had fast become friends and I'm sure had I stayed there, that friendship would have grown. After I got to Indiana, we corresponded a few times. Then one of us, maybe me, didn't answer a letter...and the relationship died.