Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to Long Beach...

I loved the Pike!
alcaray — (archived)

I recall that in one incarnation it was called Nu Pike, or something like that. My uncle was a big, scary ex-WWII-Navy guy with way too many children, and this (along with the outside - non-pay - part of Knott's Berry Farm) was one of the few places cheap enough that he would take his family (and me, once in a while).

Some of the ricketiest rides anywhere. I recall that skyride out to the pylon at sea and back, with a little thrill of fear. I was ok with it at the time, but in retrospect it scares me a bit. And that old wooden roller coaster. The centrifugal force rides. Incomprehensible funhouse (?) rides/walks.

I never lived in LB, but I went there for Navy ship tours, from time-to-time as well.

My recollection of city parks doesn't bear on the LB theme at all, but I will share anyway, because of the cool feel of the reminiscence. My Grammy and Grampy settled in a SoCal city when they migrated from North Dakota. They bought a home and that home became the center of the family. There was a park down the street that I went to repeatedly over the years - OK, it was Fremont park in Glendale. There was an artillery piece (I'm thinking 105mm?) that is long since gone, that was the coolest piece of equipment. They also had wonderful, towering magnolia trees that were perfect for climbing (and experimenting with carving initials and rude words out of the sight of adults).

There was also one of those concrete wading pools. A park service employee named Mary Anne presided. I was about 4 or 5 and one of the popular songs at the time was about Mary Anne down by the seaside siftin' sand... And I had this persistent confusion about whether the song was about the Mary Anne at the park. Other kids and even adults took malicious pleasure in making little kids believe things that were not true. I was savy enough to see that there was a joke on me shared by the perps, but I was too young to resolve the issue finally in my mind. I still feel a little miffed when I think about it. That's an early expression of the supercilious/obsessive/militant side of my personality that I'm sure you all know and love.

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