Alvin - Good job. 5-5-5. One question: Is the reference here to the Montgomery, AL bus strike or a more recent, perhaps local event, I'm not quite sure from the read. I read it as though it were Montgomery since that's a watershed event in our country's history and lends some gravitas to the work.

yeah, it was about montgomery....i shoulda tossed rosa park's name in there, somewhere

We The People. Right on, Alvin. 5's

Thanks, Alvin. Glad to hear that. It's an event (actually a period of time since the Bus strike went on for a month or so if I remember my History correctly. I don't think I was old enough at the time to be aware of what was going on. But I sure was in a couple of years...the Church bombing in Birmingham...Bull Connor and his police dogs, fire hoses turned on protesters, jailings...Dr. King & his letters from the Birmingham jail...Somehow non-violence was maintained by the protestor's throughout, really an incredible mass act of communal faith. When I combine this with Royce's parody the other day about Jack Ruby gunning down Assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas it takes me on a vividly chilling stretch of memory lane. Still remember where I was when I found out about each of the mind-blowing assassinations; a paler-than-usual 8th grade Science Teacher Mr. Holly arriving late after morning nutrition break to our 3rd period Science class in that bungalow at Audubon Junior High School. We were supposed to take a test that day and everyone was a little anxious about that. He was about 10 minutes late and a student asked him if we would have enough time to finish it. He couldn't look up....said "No test today", opened the door and let us in and when we were all seated told us the horrible news about John Kennedy's murder. In 1968 ordering a meatball sandwich at a little Italian place next to the Alpha Beta Market at Burbank & Whitsett in North Hollywood from a middle-aged Italian man with tears in his ears; I didn't know why until I heard the news playing in the background over his portable radio that Dr. King had been shot dead in Memphis, Tennessee. Falling asleep late at night in early June 1968 in my bedroom at my folks house on Fairview St. in Burbank, CA; I had just watched the results of the California Primary election - Robert Kennedy had been declared the winner and was going to make a speech. Somewhere in there I fell asleep with the TV still on, only to wake to sound of chaos, anguish and horror emitting from it. At first I thought it was some horrible dream but as I sat there zombie-like staring and listening to the reports I knew it was all too real....didn't want to wake my folks up...they would know all too soon as it was...a long night of silent anguish......Sorry if this is too much here...I didn't even realize...I'm leaving it up here in case anyone who is too young here wonders what is was like. Thanks for your indulgence. Thanks again, Alvin. I gotta take a break now...Peace

Rosa Parks would be proud. Front o' the bus 5s! Hey Paul Robinson - did you live in North Hollywood? So did Rick D & Mari, and for a short time I lived by Valley College. I wouldn't even venture out there in the daytime now.

Where's The Choir Part?

David Chrenko - Yessir, sure did. A couple of times. From about 1969 - 1974 and again from 1990-1993. Mostly on Oxnard near Laurel Canyon Blvd. My family owned the Car Wash on that corner for many years. My Dad (who turned 89 yesterday, by the way) still lives there. On a little cul-de-sac section of Wilkinson, which is not too far from Oxnard and Whitsett. I would say I attended Valley College for a while around 1969 except it would be more truthful to say I was REGISTERED to attend Valley College around 1969. Didn't make too many actual appearances.

well, yes, i left out the choir part....they were all out picketing, i suppose

GJ Alvin.I like what you did here. TC

Actually, the secret weapon in the Montgomery bus strike were the white housewives in Montgomery who drove to the black neighborhoods every morning to pick up their maids because they actually, truly did value their services. And while they were there, they were happy to drop the husbands off at work. And that's where it was discovered that white racism in the South was not as monolithic as the segregation laws made it seem; that the WWII generation of whites was less racist than their parents, seeing as how they were willing to buck the system for their maids. And that's why the Montgomery bus strike is the start of the civil rights movement; it created hope ...... Of course you never hear about this in our "national conversation" about race, do you?