Sunday, April 30, 2017

My First Home -- An Unlikely Tale

The first transmission didn't work out, and we found that out Friday after closing time.  The shop owner Paul tried a Hail Mary fix on Saturday, which seemed promising for 9/10ths of the test drive, but then we had the same problem, a torque converter lock-up that caused the engine to stall.

That means sticking around for another weekend in San Gabriel, CA, until a new replacement transmission could arrive from Ford.  But we did put our time to good use.  First, I went back to my first home in Arcadia, CA (where I lived until I was 4 years old).  My sister (10 years older) remembers it very well, and asked me to knock on the door and try to take some pictures.  I asked her what were the odds it would still look the same?  What do you think?

Well, this house is at the end of a private road with a locked gate at the end, right across from the LA Arboretum (more foreshadowing).  So Carol and I get out of the car, and a lady comes out of the house and she does not look too happy with us.  We explain why we are there, and after chatting for quite some time, she's softens and is happy to show us the property.  And guess what?  It hasn't changed at all!  Can you imagine the odds of the couple who bought the house from my parents still living in the same house (well the wife, anyway) 55 years later?  She's 90 years old and sharp as a tack.  And literally changed almost nothing inside or out.

Here is one picture that shows the family room with a cork floor -- the same one my Dad had installed when he custom-designed the house 60 years ago.  Incredible really.  Who knew anything, especially cork, would hold up under 60 years of use.


My First Home, Arcadia, CA, April 2017 © Steven Crisp  [Click on the photo to enlarge]

I took a bunch more pictures but those will only mean anything to my sister.  It was a really interesting visit, and I so wish my Mom or Dad were still around and could have been there.  That would have really been something to hear the stories.

OK, enough words.  In the next post we get back to pictures of the Arboretum since another visit was clearly in order after George pointed out all the places we did not see ;-)

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