O, HAPPY DAYS!

While the ‘50s were exciting, I remember the ‘30s as a more laid-back era in which L.A. was far more isolated and a lot friendlier. As a kid, I knew every family on the block, and we enjoyed simple pleasures more than the kids today.

It was a time when a ride down Wilshire Boulevard on the open-air double-decker bus was a thrill. Going to summer camp at Catalina started with a trip on the Big Red Car to Long Beach and then a sea cruise on the Big White Steamer. A summer day started with a ride on the Venice Short Line to the beach and a day at the Ocean Park Pier to ride the Big Dipper.

The high point of a kid’s life was going to the circus under the big top at Third and Fairfax and watching the Goodyear Blimp land near the Pan Pacific Auditorium, where they held the auto show.

All these great pleasures have vanished from the colorful scene, to be replaced by a new age in America’s great disposable city--Los Angeles.

BYRON SLATER

San Diego