Wide eyed and ready for the open road adventures ahead… Hello, Our cousins lived around the block from our old Westside of Long Beach house. the whole tract was one of the first “Tract” housing developments starting around 1945-46. We had a rear recreation room with a stamped concrete entrance slab dated 1946. When we had a foot wiping mat, it did not cover the 1946 and so, we were contstantly reminded of the construction date of our neighborhood. It was our second Westside of Long Beach and our last one from 1953 to 1998. Their house was similar as it had the same size in square footage, which was small, but they, too, built on an additional room for their two sons as a work/study place. But, when we visited from those early 53-59 days, we got to know their family car, a 1950 4 door Chevy sedan, quite well. Our families visited often and of course, while the adults were in the living room talking, the kids were outside, as in “go outside and play.” So, after running around the yard and garage, there stood a nice 50 Chevy 4 door sedan in the driveway. So, for our next hour or so, all 4 kids got inside and traded off driving the stick shift Chevy sedan to the beach, mountains and all over early So Cal, as we remember it. San Pedro shoreline, the Terminal Island compound and fish canning warehouses + the fishing fleets, the federal jail/prison walls, and even the ferry crossing to the peninsula side for a cruise around the whole Palos Verdes Peninsula. In real life adventures with our dads driving, but for the present, we were doing our own cruising around, as clear as day. The 1950 Chevy with 4 ladies going out to lunch and shopping. Our dad’s Buick in the garage driveway of our house. Jnaki Getting our mom and her friends going out for a nice lunch and tons of shopping in the 50 Chevy sedan that we, as little kids, knew inside and out. But, as a young teen, took films as a part of growing up in the Westside of Long Beach. It was the beginning of our own "future road ahead" adventures that were coming soon. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
