Hello, Yes in a couple of months, the 2024 Summer Olympic Games will be held in Paris. Well, the 95% of it will be in France. The other will be out in the South Pacific Ocean for the surf event. But, if memory serves me, my brother and I got caught up in those early Olympic games as our dad told us he went to the 1932 event in Los Angeles. He was a college student and lived in San Pedro and drove to Los Angeles and Long Beach for his schools. He told us of attending the Los Angeles events in the Coliseum area, including the track and field, as well as the swimming events, nearby. (Many years later, his goal was to attend the 1984 games in Los Angeles, but fell short by a few months that year.) So, my brother and I got all excited after he told us of the excitement of attending the events in Los Angeles. We had always been competitors in all things “brother.” So, it was nothing to challenge each other to skills events in our back yard, streets and school playground. It was summer, hot, nothing to do except have fun playing around… that is how we were as little kids. My brother challenged me to a bike race starting at our house and in a straight shot down our street, a drag race of sorts to the school playground shed. He won by a wheel length on equal size large Schwinn bikes. It could have been that his bike was stripped down with no fenders, front or rear, or the rear fender carrier. Mine was full with a gas tank, full fenders and a rear carrier. That was good as there was no way to mix up who owned which bike. That was one race and then he lined up several other “skill” activities. Throw a softball from the playground shed toward the class room building wall in right field. Shooting baskets from the top of the arch, and riding our bikes around the playground edge, in the cafeteria tunnel, around the lunch benches and baseball backstops. It was one long course. Jnaki Finally, he had set up other activities at home. Including archery, shooting with our BB rifles, throwing baseballs into a target hole and free throws at our home court backstop. And a horseshoe toss as well as a ball toss into several cans with open tops, secured together. (I won the BB rifle shooting, the free throws and horseshoe toss) Our own Olympic course activity contest games. He won the majority of the events, but I won my share much to his surprise. “The little kid did alright was his comment…” And, the brotherly love competition battles continued into adult life in our activities… surfing, skiing, one on one basketball battles and motorcycles. YRMV Note: time exposure shot… So, as 20 somethings many years later, my wife and I were, in Paris, walking around seeing the sights. After the standard Eiffel Tower night shot, we got to the base of the structure. No one was around directly below the center of the first large arch, so we laid down on the grass, looking up at the center of the structure and took several photos, color slides and B/W. YRMV
The things we sometimes don't really appreciate and take for granted. Seeing the Monorail going across the parking lot almost daily, the Matterhorn lit up at night in the background from all angles, fireworks in the sky every night from your front yard. Knotts Berry Farm a hop skip and jump away. World class beaches with free access. BTW, while I'm at it, a huge shout out to the residents of Huntington Beach. You have more support than you'll ever know.
The Jalopy Journal
