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03/10/10 |
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Returning to Bedford on July 29th I felt I was on “cloud nine”. At home I could relax and take it easy. After a few weeks “cloud nine” would dissipate. But it always came back when I came back home again. |
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In a letter from Frank I learned that he had lost his job at the restaurant. A few days later he started setting up pins at a bowling alley. He made $5.50 the first three nights. With a bit of irony, he said, “I’m doing what I did eleven years ago at the Bedford Glens Alleys”. He also advised me to hurry back since registration for returning students was September 15th, but for freshman it was September 5th. I wrote Frank about Mickey’s departure on August 15th, and that I had requested their high school credits be sent to UCLA. I also told him that I would depart in two weeks. Leaving in the late afternoon, on August 28th, I only got to Springfield that evening, about 180 miles. The next morning it took 6 hours for me to make the 23 miles to Vandalia, but then I got a long ride with a driver who was going all the way to Los Angeles. However, I decided to get off in St. Louis. Traveling non-stop across the country had no special appeal for me. My fun and joy in hitchhiking came mostly in the choice of cities and states to traverse, and in what sights and people to visit along the way. On this trip I planned to visit a Bedford friend in Oklahoma and a Camp Cummoche friend in Kansas. If there was time, I wanted to see the Grand Canyon, and maybe Boulder Dam. From St. Louis I went to Joplin and then to Wichita, Kansas to visit Jim Buck, my Camp Cummoche buddy. His parents told me that Jim had gotten married and moved to Kansas City. They invited me in for supper and to stay over. I was impressed with their kindness and hospitality. The next day, after breakfast, reversing directions, I went back to Kansas City to find Jim. Jim was very surprised by my visit, and was even more astonished to learn that I met his parents the day before. Jim had me stay for dinner and sleep there overnight. When saying “goodbye” the next morning, Jim put a dollar in my hand. I then went south thru Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then on to Krebs, arriving at John Lalli’s home at 2:00 in the morning. He took me to his drug store where we could talk freely. He mentioned that Mickey had visited him earlier. He, Mickey and Frank were 1933 classmates. On Sunday I spent most of the day visiting his brother Tony and his sister Mary who was my classmate in 1931. My worse day of the trip came after my visit with the Lalli family. On Labor Day morning, with no cars in sight I walked to Mc Alester. Under a blazing sun, it became extremely hot. At 6:00 PM I was still in Mc Alester, walking alongside the road next to the State Penitentiary. Large posted signs warned car drivers that HITCHHIKERS MAY BE ESCAPED CONVICTS. Eventually, I did get a ride to Oklahoma City. |
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Late on Tuesday, I got a 300 mile ride all the way to Amarillo. I then stayed up all night trying to get another ride but that did not pan out. Time was running out for any sight seeing at the Grand Canyon or at Boulder Dam. I would head straight to Los Angeles. I didn’t leave Amarillo until 1:00 PM, the next afternoon, but then I got the best and longest ride of my hitchhiking career. Recognizing a UCLA sticker on the windshield of a car, I hollered “UCLA”. The driver, after a quick look-over, asked me to jump in. He was Richard Hougham, a UCLA student and he was going all the way. However, he planned to diverge from Route #66 in order to see The Grand Canyon and diverge again to go to Boulder Dam. When I told him that I had wanted to visit both, he said, “Okay, we’ll go”. What an amazing coincidence and a lucky break for me. We didn’t stop until we reached Gallup, New Mexico. Getting up at five in the morning, by noon we were at the Grand Canyon. It was an awe-inspiring sight -- beautiful scenery of many colors. Boulder Dam was even more impressive. It was the most spectacular sight I had ever seen, barring none. Richard and I spent 25 cents for a guided tour. At the top of the dam we entered an elevator that descended to the very bottom, the equivalent of 44 stories. Its gigantic size and “bigness” was hard to comprehend. Completed in 1935, it was the largest dam ever built -- one of the Seven Wonders of the World. After leaving the dam, we drove through the night except for taking an hour’s nap in the car. My 1220 mile ride with Richard ended on Friday, September 8th, when he dropped me off at Bill Cook’s front door in Burbank. Unlike returning to Bedford, there was quite a different feeling in returning to Los Angeles. There was no relaxing and taking it easy here. Instead, I had to be vigilant and brace for uncertainty. But somehow, strangely, this is where I found energy and freedom, and gained the confidence to surmount hurdles and obstacles. It was here that I found a “seventh heaven” -- a state of joy and bliss. My best years had begun. Mrs. Fernding was glad that I was back and so were Frank and Mickey. Both, however, were dejected and anxious because they had been denied admission to UCLA. I was shocked when Frank said he had written a letter to his brother, telling him that he planned to return home. When I questioned him, “Do you really want to go back?” He said, “No, but I can’t stay here, there’s no room for the three of us.” For a moment, I was speechless. I told Frank and Mickey that, eventually, each had to make his own way. After further questioning, Frank admitted that he would like to go to school but he couldn’t see how it was going to happen. I reminded him of VA FA SA – you have to go first; then see what happens afterwards. I told them about the Junior College where you could make up any school deficiencies and the tuition was free. I urged them to apply. The next day we went to the Los Angeles City College (LACC) at Sunset and Vermont. After they applied for admission, I suggested that we look for a room near the campus. Walking the residential streets nearby we found a “room for rent” sign in a window at 639 No. Alexandria. They took the room and moved in the next day with all of their belongings. Both signed up for the semi-professional classification, with Frank in play production and Mickey in writing courses. On Friday they paid the five dollar registration fee and went to their first classes on Monday. At UCLA, I did the same, registering on Friday and attending classes on Monday. My subjects were Political Science, Psychology, Public Speaking 1B, and English Literature 36A. With English 4A, a 1-unit lecture course, I would carry 13 units, one more than the previous semester. My work in the cafeteria would be from noon to 2:00 P.M. In the first few weeks I visited Frank and Mickey whenever I could, bringing them their personal mail and giving them my copy of the Bedford Times, our weekly paper. I went to see them usually on the weekends after caddying at Lakeside They both quit caddying as soon as they got part-time jobs,. Frank’s job was at Hale’s Food Market on Melrose near the school. Mickey began working in a florist shop that was on Vermont, across the street from the campus. They moved rather quickly to a new address at 1015 North. Normandie, only 3 blocks from school. They each paid $7.00 a month for a large room with two single beds. Both were adapting quickly to making it on their own. I had to borrow another $30.00 from Vito for my new semester. At the end of one of my letters, I assured him that I was keeping track of each loan. Before entering UCLA I already was $225 in debt to him. That sum was an accumulation of loans to me during my "lost years" and the Depression. He sent $60 for the previous two semesters and he gave me $15 when I came home for the bowling trip. Now, I owed him an additional $43.54, for my summer vacation and for this new semester. He sent me $5 when I was in Maine and he gave me another $5 the day I left for UCLA. He also paid $3.54 to send me my suitcase. There was only one way that I could repay my brother; I had to get a full time job during the summer vacation period. On October 6th, after working in the coffee shop, I was completely surprised when the head waitress handed me a Happy Birthday card with 15 signatures. Later that afternoon I was surprised again when Mrs. Fernding gave me a big, red, juicy apple, a letter of congratulations, and a “bookmark” card upon which she had copied this inspiring quotation by Sidney Smith --“It is noble to seek truth, and it is beautiful to find it. It is the ancient feeling of the human heart that knowledge is better than riches. It is deeply and sacredly true”. Another birthday gift came that evening when I went out to dinner with Peter Plotkin, my co-worker in the coffee shop and with his older brother Morrie, a graduate student. After dinner Pete and I went to see “Beau Geste”, a very good movie with Ronald Colman, Preston Foster and Ray Milland. It was a perfect ending for my 26th birthday. I worked as a ticket checker at the UCLA – TCU football game. This was a Friday night game in the L. A. Memorial Coliseum which UCLA won 6 – 2. I made a dollar and got to see the last half of the game. I began to go to the All University Sings, held once a month on Monday nights. It was high class vaudeville with big bands and many entertainers. I went several times with Frank and Bill Siegert. All my presentations in Speech had to be on one subject. My choice, of course, was the Movies. My first presentation was only so-so, but Dr. Karr asked to speak to me after class. He explained why he was not satisfied with my progress. This is what he said: “Hugo, you have the best speaking voice in the whole class. You speak conversationally, which is good; and you use your imagination, yet you lack that final punch which puts a speech over. He went on to say that I had the voice quality, such as tone, volume, resonance, and clearness, which makes a distinctive speaker, but nervousness and the lack of technique in outlining my speeches, spoils everything. I readily accepted the praise and had to agree with his criticism. At UCLA very few student got the opportunity to become acquainted with their professors. Those that did were mostly post-graduates or upper division assistant readers. It was different with me because, somehow, I did something that aroused their curiosity. My professors noticed me. Last year it happened with Dr. Swedenberg, Dr. Howrd, Dr. Cox, and Dr. Karr. This semester I got acquainted with Dr. Rolfe, my professor of English Literature. After Dr. Swedenberg had spoken to him about me, Dr. Rolfe asked me to see him. For the first time UCLA hit the “big time”. They were unbeaten and could go to the Pasadena Rose Bowl if they beat the U.S.C. Trojans on December 9th. All seats in the Coliseum were sold out. Jim Gogan asked me to get him two tickets along the 40 – 50 yard line at any price. Every UCLA football player got 2 tickets gratis. Mario Russo, a freshman tackle, wanted $6.00 each for his tickets. I notified Jim, but the asking price for tickets kept rising as the day approached. Eventually, Jim paid $15.00 for his two tickets. Frank found a new buddy in his Drama class. He was Melvin Lertzman from Lorain, Ohio. When Frank told Mel that he was from Bedford, Mel became excited, overwhelming Frank with many questions. In no time, Mel had the lowdown on all three of us from Bedford. When I met Mel, he was all over me with questions about Bedford and UCLA. He said he wanted to transfer to UCLA for the next semester. Due to our Ohio connection we were friends instantly. Jim Gogan invited me to his home for Thanksgiving Day dinner and he asked me to bring Frank. We had a grand day. First, in the afternoon, we went to the Gordon Theater on La Brea to see a double feature. Both were revivals of the best foreign films. We saw “Peg of Old Drury, an English Picture with Sir Cedric Hardwicke and Anna Neagle. The French film, “Carnival in Flanders”, directed by Jacques Feyder, featured Jean Murat, Francoise Rosay, and Louis Jouvet. I gave four stars (****) to both. We then went to Gogan’s home for dinner. We met Jim’s wife and their ten year old daughter, Audrey. It was a swell home cooked meal – turkey and all the trimmings, and plenty of it. We were served by a pretty maid, but Jim did not introduce her. The conversation was mostly football, the big game coming up etc. Jim said that he had a $100 bet that U.S.C. would play in the Rose Bowl. I kept razzing him that he should have bet on UCLA. We also discussed our bowling trip to Bedford and our teammates. Jim told his wife about the big dinner my mother served to our team. Frank and I never forgot that Thanksgiving Day. In fact, every year, he and I relived it - - the two films, the dinner, and the pretty maid that was not introduced. I was not too surprised when Frank told me that Mickey had left his place two days before Thanksgiving Day. Mickey had moved into an apartment on Monroe Street with two older men. The younger man, 40, worked with Mickey at the florist shop.. Mickey had been distancing himself from Frank for sometime. Frank told me that Mickey was going steady with Martha. His free time, no doubt, was being spent with the new girl friend. After seeing all the games at the Coliseum I thought Kenny Washington was the greatest football player. He could run, pass or plunge through the line. He deserved to be picked on the All American Team. His teammate, Jackie Robinson, was something else. He was the trickiest, swiftest, open field runner there ever was. When he was cornered, and blocked from advancing, he would reverse his direction; outrun all the players that were chasing him, then again reverse direction towards the goal line. You had to see him do it to believe it. For the big game on Saturday, December 9th, I did not want to be checking tickets of “late-comers” and miss the opening kickoff plus five or ten minutes of the game. However, since a sell-out crowd of 104,000 was expected, our school was forced to hire a lot more ticket checkers and ushers. Consequently, I got promoted to a two-dollar job as an Assistant Section Chief. Working inside the Stadium, I could see the whole game plus watch the band and “rooters” parade at the half. On Friday I went in to see Frank and stayed overnight because his place was only five miles from the Coliseum. The next morning I had to be at the Coliseum at 9:30 A.M. dressed in my suit and tie. The UCLA Bruins versus the USC Trojans was the talk of the town and the nation. They were featured in Look and Life magazines. The Trojans, of course, were heavily favored to win. They clobbered the Bruins the prior year with a score of 42 – 7. This time, however, the Bruins had a chance for an upset win. Both teams were undefeated, but UCLA had two tie games, while USC had one. The winner of this game would go to the Rose Bowl. The die was cast. It was a hard-fought battle. Neither team could score. But, in the final minutes UCLA got a first down on the one yard line. They looked like a sure winner but in four tries they failed to score. The game ended in a zero to zero tie. The Trojans were selected to play in the Rose Bowl. The Bruins were shocked and so were the majority of spectators. I never thought I would get so wrapped up in a football game. UCLA, the perennial underdog, made the “big time” by holding the mighty Trojans to a tie. Jim Gogan won his bet, but I felt the Bruins were the real winners. On December 7th I was notified to report to the Federal Building in Los Angeles on the 11th and the 12th for a temporary job handling Christmas mail. I was upset that I had to miss my classes and my work (and meals) in the coffee shop. School let out on the 13th. Dealing with the Post Office was a frustrating experience. I was upset with the rigmarole of “being bonded” which cost me fifty cents and trying to get two “passport photos” for my identification card which cost me a dime I wasted the whole afternoon and evening trying to get the two passport pictures. Early the next morning, I finally got the two pictures in downtown Los Angeles. I was just in time to get hired. When I reported for duty at the Westwood Village station, I was told to return to the Federal Building for a different assignment. I was about to blow up from all the “red tape”. But I calmed down when I got a transfer to Sawtelle, my local post office only two blocks from my room. When I arrived there after 10:00 A.M., the supervisor told me to come back Monday. But I asked, “How about working now”? He hesitated for a second and then said okay. I got two hours work carrying local mail. After caddying Saturday, I stayed overnight with Frank. On Sunday, getting to the golf course earlier, I was able to go out for two loops. Monday morning I started to carry the mail. I worked seven straight days, was off on Christmas Day, and then worked the 26th, my last day. Walking 8 hours a day for 8 days, my legs and feet were quite sore. At 65 cents per hour I earned $41.60, but I had to wait until the 30th to get my check at the Federal Building in Los Angeles. Christmas Eve I went to see Frank and I stayed over. Christmas Day we had lunch and dinner at a restaurant on Hollywood Blvd. In between the two meals we saw a big double feature – John Ford’s “Drums along the Mohawk” with Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert and Frank Capra’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” with Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur and Thomas Mitchell. Capra’s film was tops, I rated it “five stars”. Prior to carrying the mail, I ran out of money. With the school cafeteria closed, I had to pay for my meals. To tide me over, I borrowed four dollars from Frank. The eleven dollars that I received in Christmas cards came in handy Thus; I was able to cover my room and board plus miscellaneous expenses. After picking up my postal check on the 30th I banked $25.00, paid Frank off, and still had a little cushion for the weeks ahead. Hugo P. Cipriani |