« How to capture America | Main | baby talk »

September 11, 2002

brown derby

brown derby

Long before I was even a twinkle in my parent's eyes, they traveled to Los Angeles in the early sixties so that my Father could attend a conference at UCLA.

Dad took this photo of the Brown Derby and I love looking at this image and imagining them, a young and very handsome newlywed couple dining at this icon of Hollywood history. When I was home a few weeks ago I devored their albums and scrapbooks from the pre-moxie years. But as I've chosen it as my home I was most interested in the photos of Los Angeles.

Dad ever the perfect tour guide took Mom to several famous venues for a bite to eat. My Mom still has the menu and a few photos from the Cocoanut Grove. There are photos of all the important landmarks, even though he was in LA for business he made sure they hit all the important sites. It all looked so exciting. LA as it was in the 60's is something I lament that I can never experience.

Even now when Pops Slade visits LA, he's eager and excited about what new things we can see. I really treasure our California adventures and am happy to recognize that I got my love of travel from him. The first thing he asks when I call after traveling...what kind of plane did you have? (He wanted to be a fighter pilot but had poor vision) The second is always a "make sure you get to see this, or go there." He's traveled quite a bit and it's always fun to compare our photos. Japan, Australia, London, Paris...

He even enjoys hearing about the domestic places I visit, he hasn't made it out to Palm Springs yet and he was full of questions about how I liked Cleveland.

They really broke the mold after they made my Dad. He's handsome even in his sixties, has more graduate degrees than anyone I know, kindness unmatched and a well-developed sense of humor. It makes me wonder how my Mom knew to "snag" him at the tender age of 19 and how on god's green earth they've managed to stay together some 30+ years. While I inherited a lot of traits from my parents, the one thing I didn't get was their good judgment when it comes to choosing partners.

{thank you to the very special readers who bought me things from my wish list. It was a wonderful surprise to receive them today!}

Posted by Moxie at September 11, 2002 10:43 PM |Stumble It! | | del.icio.us