Gone... But Not Forgotten

The world we are living in right now is very uncertain, since March we have been in a quarantine staying at home and social distancing when we leave to bring home essentials. I think all of us are yearning for the day when we leave our homes again and return to some sense of normalcy to see our friends and hug and live the kind of life that perhaps many of us took for granted before our exile began at home. During times like this I think it's natural and probably therapeutic to think back to times that gave us some sense of solace and safety. My memories have gone down many empty hallways and opened different doors to reexamine different relationships and experiences that have been the major defining factors in my life.  I think it's very useful to use the great times in tandem with those that were perhaps more difficult to really understand where we have been that made us who we are and how we can use it as a blueprint to navigate the future; it's very important to not use the past as a crutch for who we are and what we have become as a result but rather a tool to help us become the best person that  we can.  From my wanderings and musing in the past I have undercovered many revelations and perhaps not the most important was  I came to realize that Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills is probably my favorite residential street in the world... but I'll get back to this later.

There was a brief period in my life that almost everything I did and everyone I knew fell within the perimeters of these communities... It was a time when you could see Doris Day riding her bicycle or see Gene Kelly in line at the post office and they would smile and wave...  we did not have cell phones or texting and answering machines  and life seemed so much less complicated... but when you really examine it under closer scrutiny things were complicated and messy sometimes. As I said in an earlier installment but it bears repeating here is that I will always miss people more than places or things... but some of the places and things are related to people I know or have know and subsequently because of them I have been thinking about some of these places and things...

If you were to ask anyone that I knew back then what their first impression of me was I would guess it would relate to what I was wearing... and what compelled anyone to say to me at the time... "I love what you are wearing!" or "That looks great on you!" typically came from a store with the name Magnin in it.... what is remarkable in my memory of these three stores is that most of the people knew my first name.

I Magnin in Beverly Hills was one of the best stores in the entire world. Some of the best things I ever owned came from this store... I think I just got rid of the last threadbare item about a year ago. I've said this many times... it was much more enjoyable to shop here than to work here... but I did meet some incredible people in both venues.

You can see Jerry Magnin's store across the street from this image in the movie "American Gigolo" ... it's very odd but I don't know a single person anymore who shopped here; from the time he opened in 1970 until he closed in 1987 this was my favorite clothing destination in the entire world. Of all the people who I have ever known in fashion retail Jerry Magnin is probably one of the nicest and he had the best taste level of any merchant I've ever known. 

Joseph Magnin was in Century City and had a small but wonderfully edited men's department... I spent more time in the Joseph Magnin at the Kahala Mall in Honolulu... the buyers knew what was easy to wear, comfortable and stylish in a tropical climate.

I would be remiss if I did not mention Bullock's Westwood... they had whatever you needed in a pinch and it saved a trip down Wilshire Boulevard to Beverly Hills... it was also a great place to grab lunch... and my first job wrapping holiday packages was there.

Bullock's Westwood closed in 1998 and the exterior looks almost the same... but the interior is a Ralph's grocery store, Target and UCLA Child Care Center.

The transformation of Westwood Village for me is probably the most dramatic in terms of changes in retail and restaurant real estate in that the historical significance of most of them ceased to exist because of rising rent, cultural change and subsequently  falling customer interest. There were many small family owned business that just could not  make it through difficult financial periods... the exceptions were probably Hamburger Hamlet once owned by Harry and Marilyn Lewis who sold the chain of restaurants in the 80's for 33 million dollars; for years it was my home away from home and it was one of those places you just never knew who you would run into. 

 The other was Tower Records.... if the music industry had not evolved it would probably exist much as it once did years ago... I think almost every single vinyl LP I owned came from this store...

but like everything in life that grows and evolves you have to expect change... but I do miss seeing Barbra Streisand and all the delicious goodies at The Butterfly Bakery.

I only had dinner at Chasen's a couple of times... but in its heyday it was the see and be seen place from 1936 to 1995... rumors I've heard say that they invented the "Shirley Temple" beverage for Shirley Temple when she was there as a child having dinner with her parents. However I loved to go for lunch and have their famous chili.... it's my favorite of any I've ever had. Elizabeth Taylor used to pay to have it frozen and sent to her on film locations. When smoking was banned in restaurants she once booked the entire restaurant for lunch so she could go back and have lunch and smoke.

If you were never lucky enough to have lunch there... here is the chili recipe...

Chasen's Chili

1/2 pound dried pinto beans
water
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups onions, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup butter
2 pounds beef chuck, coarsely chopped
1 pound pork shoulder, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup Gebhardt's chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Farmer Brothers ground cumin

Rinse the beans, picking out debris. Place beans in a Dutch oven with water to cover. Boil for two minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand one hour. Drain off liquid.
Rinse beans again. Add enough fresh water to cover beans. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for one hour or until tender.
Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Simmer five minutes. In a large skillet saute bell pepper in oil for five minutes. Add onion and cook until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the garlic and parsley. Add mixture to bean mixture. Using the same skillet, melt the butter and saute beef and pork chuck until browned. Drain. Add to bean mixture along with the chili powder, salt, pepper and cumin.
Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for one hour. Uncover and cook 30 minutes more or to desired consistency. Chili shouldn't be too thick - it should be somewhat liquid but not runny like soup. Skim off excess fat and serve.
Makes 10 cups, or six main dish servings.

It's delicious served with a Shirley Temple!

If I could put one building back to it's original state it would be the old Beverly Hills Library... it  opened in 1963 and the designer Martin Stern modeled the  tile mosaic exterior of the mid-century modern building to look like the spines of books... 

The colorful lighting reflected inside was a magical combination of the fountains on the outside through the glass facade...The library hosted an art fair on Sunday morning. Probably most memorable of this period were some of the celebrities who once a month came to read children's stories in the screening room. The exterior appears as Mike Brady's office on "The Brady Bunch" television show. In the late 80's it was converted to a Spanish Revival Deco building... rumor has it the original structure and mosaic work is beneath the buildings new facade.

All of these memories are wrapped up with a thread from a unique period of time when for me smoking and drinking were still just guilty pleasures and I had not yet heard of sun screen and  laughter and singing were always a part of my day... and more than anything fear was not a component of everyday life... you just went to the airport and sometimes minutes before your flight and got on the aircraft and went off in the sunset whistling a happy tune. I don't think the world will ever get back to this... but we have our memories for a reason to keep certain people and places alive for us.

What I have from all of this is someone I knew grew up on Roxbury Drive and I used to love to go over and look at the houses on my drive there and I had and still have a favorite...

1023 Roxbury Drive used to belong to Agnes Moorehead... but she was gone by the time I traveled this street regularly... I just love this neighborhood partially because of the jasmine scent and the sunlight the way it dapples the houses and street through the trees... and the memories of my friends life here and what we shared so long ago... and so thoughts drift to where our lives went from here... probably  the most important lesson I learned from a conversation late one night by his swimming pool on Roxbury Drive is .. We have two lives... the second one starts when we realize that we only have one... I'm forever grateful  to him for sharing this and every memory he helped to create.

From my life and living here and the many times I've returned over the years there have been dramatic changes... much is gone but more remains in the big picture from what I learned and experienced here and to who I have become and  the knowledge from the journey  to know that laughter and song are only missing from my life because I stopped laughing and singing... something I'm going to remedy today.

If there seems to be something from your past that you feel is lost... look for it and bring it back to learn from it and share that but put it back in the box and wrap it up until you need it again and live for today and what you want to find tomorrow.

From everything in my past right up until today... I have become someone who places life, love and quality of living above everything else. So even from the captivity of our homes I think it's important to put aside our fears and start living our lives again...and become an active part in creating the new normal. Because on top of everything else I've learned we can't go back to the way things used to be.

See you next time. Be safe!