This blog is my start at writing my story. I have divided my life into segments. To think of writing about my entire 76 years at one time is scary. One important time of my life was when I lived in California 1963-1981. This blog will cover those years.
Now as they say "Tell me the story"..
My Arrival in Los Angeles
I arrived in Los Angeles Friday, June 26, 1963. Oh what an adventure I was going to have over the next years. The places I lived, the people I met, the jobs I had and all the other experiences.
I moved to LA thinking that I would marry Charlie, an old flame. When I left Cincinnati I had a one way plane ticket to Los Angeles, no job, no place to live, no car, knew one person,Charlie, and had $100 in my pocket. I had no doubt that things would work out.
I temporarily lived with a girlfriend of Charlie's friend, Chuck. I had worked as an Engineering Assistant at General Electric Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati and thought I would apply for jobs in the aerospace/aircraft businesses in the area. I was living in North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley. Coming up with a list of the companies in the Valley wasn't hard and Charlie would drive me to their employment offices to fill out applications. I had applied to several companies in the first week and before the end of the next week I was contacted to come to The Marquardt Corporation in Van Nuys for an interview.
The interview went well and I was offered a job as an engineering assistant to start work the next week with a salary of $110 per week. Marquardt was an aerospace company that made the BOMARC missile. The job was very much like the jobs I had done at GE and I felt comfortable there working with a group of 6 engineers.
I continued to see Charlie but I was also interested in meeting new people. Once I had gotten a paycheck I decided to move into a place of my own. I found a studio apartment that rented by the week so I could afford it. I moved in in late July.
It was in a singles complex at 10822 Magnolia Blvd in North Hollywood. The picture above is how it looked when I went by during a visit in May 2010.
When I got the job I realized that I did need a car. Charlie had a spare car he had for sale and he lent it to me until I could get something else to drive. It was a Hillman Minx with a 4 speed gear shift on the steering column. It had a tendency to slip out of gear so I had to hold the gear shift in place after I shifted.
I decided I needed to find another car and ventured down to the LA downtown area to look at used cars. I had a LA map and headed out on a Friday afternoon. The freeway interchange at that time in LA was 4 levels. After I managed to get through the interchange and found my way back to North Hollywood I knew I wouldn't have any trouble driving on the freeways but I hadn't found another car.
The guys I worked with knew I lived by myself and told me about one of the secretaries, Lucia Shammas, who was looking for a roommate. They introduced me to her and we hit it off. Early September I moved into her apartment.
She lived at 10621 Gault Street in Van Nuys. This is a picture I took when I was on a visit in May 2010. When I lived there what is now paved parking was all lawn. Parking was on the street.
My next post will tell about my life after I moved in with Lucia.
