Thursday, April 30, 2009

Going Home Again – Manhattan Beach (Jan-Sep) 1964

With our UCB days behind us, Dick's first job out of college was with Mattel Toys. In January 1964 we rented this little house on 16th Place in Manhattan Beach, just three blocks from the beach. We didn't live there but a few months but a lot sure happened there. Within the first month I was pregnant, something we had put off during our struggling college days in Albany. In February, Susan and I were rushed to the hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning, it seems the landlord failed to reconnect the heater vent after painting the place. But we survived the experience just fine.

However I can't say the same for the kid's two goldfish. I got this great idea that they needed some sunshine on this particular day and placed their bowl on the window sill in the living room. Well, I went out for the day and forgot all about them – if they had been shrimp, dinner would have been ready when I got home. This was probably the first pet loss for Susan and Mark. I'm not sure how I explained the missing fish, maybe that they went out for a swim and never came back.

I can't remember exactly how long we were here, six to eight months I would guess. The job was going well for Dick so we thought it would be the right time to buy a place for our growing family. We found a nice little place just a few blocks away, but that is next week's story.

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