Art & Inspiration Traditional images that need no explanation.

Hello,

We had seen the water skiing going on down by the far Eastern edge of the Long Beach shoreline area. It was at the mouth of the L.A. Rivcr’s journey’s end at the ocean. The flat water surface area was ripe for all kinds of water skiing and boats. We could ride our bikes to the exact spot on the top of the L.A. River’s flood control berm all the way to the ocean. There we saw plenty of water skiers zipping around the area where the Queen Mary is located, today.

But, some of the skiers had the driver of the boats take them under the first bridge of the L.A. River and then turn around. We wanted that feeling of being towed by a vehicle. But, since we did not drive and our dad certainly would not pull us around, we had to be creative. We had a red metal wagon like most kids in our neighborhood.

So, we knew the narrow wagon was not going to be practical due to the tipping over when a heavy weight was put on top. We used the wagon to take our family trash cans, before the steel frame hand carts were around, out to the street curb. But, had our share of tipping over due to the narrow nature of the red wagons.

Jnaki

My brother’s idea was to make a lower frame out of wood. Use the same tires, but widen the metal rod connecting the two wheel axles. Now, the frame was low, a little wider and we could both fit on top. No, both of us could not fit on top together. We made a rough, "turn-able" front axle section and the power came from a young kid on the bicycle. Picture an axle with a 3-4 inch wood extension upward to hold the wagon tires + axle.

I was the bicycle power and my brother was using a rope to steer the front wheel + axle on the wagon, while sitting on top. We used a long rope tied to the seat post of the bike and attached the other end to the wagon. Now, as fast as I could peddle the bicycle, the faster the wagon with my brother on it, would go.

Note: I peddled as fast as I could and made the turns on the smooth elementary school playground. My brother did not know that as I turned on the bicycle, he would go farther out on an arch turn and go faster. Yes, the force of me peddling as fast as I could, pulled him outside the turning radius and over he went on the school playground surface.

He figured out that he had to control the angle of the curved turnaround move, so he would not flip over. When it was my turn, on the first turn around, I flipped, too. Ha! Turn around is fair play…YRMV

 

Al Bergler.

 

Don Garlits getting his ands dirty.

 

Don Garlits.

 

A young Don Prudhomme.

 

A real Hot Rod.

 

the Summers brothers ?

 

A real LOW one, for 1947 !

 

Before they discovered aluminum blower studs !