Synopsis - Chapter 16
I took a one way flight to LAX, from Jacksonville, on August 14, 1969. That was the day I was released from probation for being arrested for possession of marijuana. Adjudication of guilt was withheld, and it was supposed to be stricken from my record, but it still shows up on FBI background checks. George probably took me to the airport in Jacksonville. I got to LA around noon and took a bus to Orange County Airport, since renamed, John Wayne Airport. I hitchhiked to the Greek surfboard factory in Costa Mesa to look for work. They didn't need any help, but told me to go one block up the hill to the Exxon gas station. Monty and his wife ran the station and hired me on the spot. "Be at work tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock." Did I mention that I had a duffel bag and @$100 to my name. I hitchhiked down to Huntington Beach and walked down Main Street, near the pier. I saw a vacancy sign at the Alma Hotel, 215 1/2 Main Street, and walked upstairs to meet Mom Ingersoll. I rented a 15 by 15 room for $15 a week from Mom. She asked me how I was getting to work, and I told her I would hitchhike. She took me to her son and his wife's house a few miles away and gave me an old 24" girls blue bicycle to ride. I had been in town for 3 or 4 hours and had a job, a place to stay, and transportation. I love to tell that story. I was 21 years old.
I had ridden my 350 Honda Scrambler to Atlanta and partially disassembled it and strapped it to a pallet at Dad's S.K. Wellman warehouse. Dad shipped it for me to the company warehouse in LA. I may have flown to LA from Atlanta, it's hard to remember now. I may have hitchhiked back to Jacksonville and flown from there, I think I did. I wouldn't have had a duffel bag on my motorcycle. I took a bus to LA from Huntington Beach a week or so after I arrived by plane. I borrowed some tools from the warehouse manager and put my bike back together. I was on the road again. I bought a 1954, 4 door Chevrolet station wagon shortly after that too, for $150. It reminded me of my first car, a 1953 Chevrolet sedan that I drove when I dated my first girlfriend, Susie Voges.
I had many adventures during this period, which I will detail in time, God willing. If any of my friends or family can help me with time frames for events and/or photos, I would appreciate it. Special mention goes to Sallie Rosenbaum, who was a very important part of my life during this time. Hi to Brian Rosenbaum, who is also special.
Coming to California
1966 to 1968 were rough years for me. I downgraded from University of Virginia to DeKalb Junior College in Decatur, Georgia in 1966. I dropped out of DeKalb in 1967. I totalled my 1957 VW oval bug, after a Christmas party that year. Took too many 5mg white crosses at a Love In in Balboa Park. Got arrested for possession of marijuana in April of 1968. I am omitting some of the more sordid episodes out of shame, but there were several more. The day I got off probation for the marijuana charge, August 14, 1969, I was on a plane from Jacksonville, Florida, to LAX. I wanted to start over, live differently, and do better. I was 21. I had a duffel bag and $100, I figured that was enough to get started. I had been to Orange County, California, previously and I knew the owner of a surf shop, Bob Bolen, aka “The Greek”, who had a factory in Costa Mesa. I took a bus from LAX to the Orange County Airport, now named for John Wayne. From there I hitch hiked to Costa Mesa and started looking for work. I stopped at a gas station, and asked about work. I knew the mechanic there from an Exxon station where we had worked together in 1968, and he said they weren’t hiring. From there I walked a short distance to the Greek factory, and asked about work there. Greek didn’t need any help either, but he said “Go to the Exxon station up at the top of the hill, I think they need someone.” They did need help and I was hired on the spot. Monty, the owner told me to report at 6 AM the next morning. I had been in town for 3 hours and I had a job. I hitch hiked down to Huntington Beach, AKA, Surf City, and walked down Main Street, near the pier. There was a vacancy sign in front of an old two story wood frame building in the 200 block. I walked up some wooden stairs and met “Mom” Ingersoll. She had 15 X 15 rooms for $15 a week, bathroom at the end of the hall. I paid her and told her I had a job in Costa Mesa. When I told her I was going to hitch hike to work, she took me to her son’s house nearby, and got me an old blue girls bicycle to ride to work. Mom Ingersoll settled in Huntington Beach in the 1920’s and lived in a tent for two years with her two sons and husband, who worked in the oil fields offshore. Within about six hours I had a job, a place to live, and transportation.
What I really remember about the end of that day, was a feeling of being completely on my own. The room was shabby, with a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling. I felt a little depressed about living like a bum, but I put that out of my mind and revelled in my independence and freedom.
I had been in Huntington Beach for several months. I was surfing by the pier one day and I saw something off to the west in the distance. "What's that?" I asked a fellow surfer. He said "That's Catalina island." The everyday smog had obscured it until this day since I arrived. "26 miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is calling to me..." Another cool sight off in the distance to the northwest was when a rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base blew up about a mile high. The smog made the explosion cosmic with color.
I stayed in Southern California until February of 1973, when I went to Hawaii to live. Sallie and Brian took me to the airport. I remember getting my airplane ticket at LAX, and the girl at the counter asking me if I wanted round trip. I grinned ear to ear and replied "One way!" Hawaii was and is my dream, and I was on my way.
June 28, 2010
