First Communion and Disneyland.

I hate this picture of me. The shadow makes it look like I am in the beginning stages of a B-52s hairdo. And while I am at it....look at that awful floor! That was our kitchen table? How hideous!

So why am I dressed in this ridiculous outfit that I only wore once? Well, in Second Grade, I along with the rest of my class who were baptized Catholics got to experience First Communion. I remember it being an exciting time for us.

We got excited....over a cracker that has the consistency of spider webs.

There was a lot of excited fury surrounding this occasion, I remember. Miss Felciano got us all prepped by doing activities in our Catechism books, attending our first act of contrition (an activity that I never did again so I never understood why we did it) followed by our first confession....I remember confessing a lot and having to have to say a shitload of prayers.

After we did all of this, it was time for our First Communion. We were lined up and escorted into the church with all the pomp and circumstance of a virgin being led to a sacrificial alter. We went through the normal mass, then it came time for us to receive the thing. We went up one at a time while the organ played whatever it was playing at the time (a little note: the organ that is currently at St David's was not there when this happened...so it did not sound awesome in a Captain Nemo sort of way), and then it was time for me to get it. I held my hands out to receive... and Father Moran dropped it at my feet.

Afterwords we came home and had a potluck lunch to celebrate my first passage into Heaven. All I knew was I wanted to desperately get out of that damned suit and into a T Shirt and shorts.

That was one pivotal moment that happened to me in second grade. The other was my first trip to Disneyland.


As you can see with these following photos, my parents are to blame for my obsession with all things Disney. They got me started at a VERY early age. My mom has a photo of me in a highchair watching old reruns of "The Mickey Mouse Club" and has even told me that if I missed the show I would have a fit
Anywho, the obsession officially became an obsession when my parents took me on my first trip to the park. I instantly fell in love with Disneyland, and wanted to go on every ride and see every show. My favorites were "Peter Pan's Flight", "Pirates of the Caribbean" (still my all time favorite), "Mr Toad's Wild Ride", "Country bear Jamboree" (R.I.P.), and "Space Mountain" (the first roller coaster I rode). I did not want to leave the park, and thus a love affair began.

Now living in Texas, I deeply miss having easier access to a place I have come to regard as my second home.

I shall return someday.......

Sister Christian, Oh The Time Has Come....

Do you know how many damn times I have tried to write this entry? Far too many. It almost seems as if I am not supposed to speak about my experience in second grade for some reason. Is it because it involves a nun?

At any rate, I want to start this entry with commenting on the picture you see to the left. This was from a muscial production the first and second grade did called "The Elephant's Child", based on the short story by the same name. That is me as the elephant having his nose pulled on. It was my first acting gig. I look at this photo today and cringe.

I entered second grade with wide eyed wonderment as to what will happen. New room, new desk, and some new faces as well. The biggest new face was Miss Felciano, a teacher we soon learned was fun but at the same time not one to piss off because she had no hesitation in bringing the smack down. I learned this the hard way.

In the school year books, I am not pictured with the second grade class. This is due to the fact that when the pictures were taken my family took me for my first trip to Disneyland. So in second grade I had the birth of my acting bug, and the birth with my obsession with all things Disney. I came back with tons of stories to tell, and at the same time was disappointed I was back in school and not riding "Peter Pan's Flight".

I think this mentality is why I was in detention a lot with Miss Felciano. it certainly was not because she enjoyed my company. However, one day I took it too far.

In St David's, if you misbehave you get your name on the board. Do it again, and you get a check which means a 30 min detention after school. Do it again and get a second check for a 60 min detention. 3rd check means a parent teacher talk. The dreaded 4th check means you must meet with the principal and discuss your behavior.

Not naming names but I heard someone in the class above us once got 10 checks from Miss Felciano. If that is true I have no clue, but woah!

Anyways, there were those who were well behaved, some who slipped once in a while, and the trouble kids. I for a bit was a trouble kid. Detention after detention. One day I took it too far and wound up with 4 checks behind my name.

I was already at two checks that day. Facing the dreaded 1 hr detention consisting of writing phrases like "I will not talk out of turn" and stuff. Interesting punishment: non stop writing for 30 mins-1 hour. Misbehave in class, we will give you early carpel tunnel.

As I was saying, I was at 2 checks, and then I did something really bad. I was sitting next to someone named AG (not his real name but you know the drill), and we were giggling and being stupid. Suddenly for no reason we both stood up and said out loud "OOH WE'RE NAKED!". we sang it actually. Felciano had enough and immediately moved me beyond 3 checks and directly to 4 checks.

Up to the principal's office I went.

Now as I mentioned in my 1st grade entry, Sister Christian the mother superior as well, and she is a nice person as long as you behave. When you misbehave, all the warm and fuzzy Julie Andrewness disappears. It is replaced with the wrath of God.

So there I was, in front of this angry nun who was demanding a reason for my behavior. I could not give her an answer. So, she called my mom (who at this time was still a housewife) and had he come join me in the office. When my mom entered, Sister Christian got a slight bit nicer, but still was cold. Told my mom about how bad I was, how this path can lead to the devil, and that my mom needed to do this and that. Needless to say my mom was not happy that I was the reason she had to come to school and meet with me and the principal.

I was grounded for the first time in my life.

Miss Felciano and Sister Christian then felt that I needed an outlet. They were right. Later in life I learned I have an IQ of 169 (pretty high) so I am sure I was bored. I was struggling with math in my school years, but my ability to attain knowledge, memorize shit, and just be a walking encyclopedia still astounds me. Plus, you have my comedy quick wit that came to me first in St David's.

Anywho, our music teacher was having our class and the 1st grade put on a little musical play based on the fable "The Elephant's Child". I was cast in the lead. It was the outlet I needed. I got to goof around and be someone else, and it calmed me down. It turned out I was this white hotg ball of creativity that needed guidance. And an audience to perform in front of

Am I still that white hot ball of creative energy? Yes.

Do I still long for an audience to perform in front of? DUH!

Hilltop Drive-In and The Station Wagon

OK, so each time I have sat down and attempted to talk about 2nd grade, something has happened to cause whatever computer I am at to freak out and make me lose my work, so I decided to not talk about it yet, and instead side step and discuss something outside of school but was a major part of my childhood: The Hilltop Drive In Theater.

Long before it became a spot for a hotel and a Chevy's Mexican restaurant, the space in the Hilltop Mall area in Richmond, CA had a huge drive in theater called Hilltop Drive In. It was your a-typical Drive In: huge space for cars to take those tinny one speaker things that you attach to your window, a playground for kids, and a snack bar filled with all sorts of junk food. Plus a creepy bathroom. I will get to the bathroom in a minute.

On weekends, the drive in was used for a huge swap meet, which we attended on a regular basis as a family, but the main draw was the movies themselves. Each week, no matter what was playing, my parents and I would pile up in the station wagon and go catch a flick there, no matter what was playing. Since we had a station wagon, we were able to fold down the back seat to make a long bed which my mom would line with a sheet and comforter so I could lay down and fall asleep if I was tired, or hide my eyes if we were seeing a scary movie.

Ah, The Station Wagon. Remember those pieces of shit?

This one was our, except it was black instead of this cream color. It came in handy for transporting kids around and Christmas trees and the drive in, but I have never seen a car give my family so much trouble like this one. From the engine crapping out to the fake wood paneling peeling, to the inside roof collapsing on top of my little sister one day. It was almost as if the car had leprosy. Creepy.

Anyway, as I was saying we would pile up in this car and go see the double feature playing. Sometimes it was a classic drive in film like "The Blob" or even, believe it or not, "The Ten Commandments" (which was popular for some reason at a drive in). Sometimes it was first run films too, like "The Incredible Melting Man" or "Laserblast" or "Cujo".

Yes, my family took me to see horror films at an early age, and most of them were experienced at the drive in. Actually, it was more my dad who took me. If it were up to my mom, I think I would have constantly stayed home with the babysitter, but after a few years they felt I was up to the task I guess.

Wrong.

even though I look at films like "Cujo" and "The Incredible Melting Man" today and say "What a load of crap", the films scared the living hell out of me. especially at a Drive In in the back of a station wagon whit windows all around so that the monsters can look in on you at night and plot how to get the tasty child behind the glass. Or at least that is what I thought at the time. The scariest movie I saw at the Drive In? "Night of the Living Dead". You can imagine the nightmares THAT film did to a 6 year old child.

Horror films were not the only scares I got from this place though. Remember that bathroom I mentioned? It was scary. It honestly, in my memory, looks like the room from "Saw". It was not that well lit though, which is one of the reasons why it was scary. It also looked like a hiding place for monsters or perverts hungry for the young peen. On top of that, the stalls had NO DOORS. How can one sit and poop when they are exposed in public like that? And who knows what evil is lurking on those seats.

That walk to and from was also not fun. It was dark at this drive in theater, so you had to rely on the lights from the screen to guide you, and also pray the monsters would not attack, drag you away, and devour your soul. Plus, the ground was composed of rocks and dust. My mom usually brought me to the drive in wearing my pajamas and slippers, so I felt EVERY SINGLE DAMN ROCK! Ow.

The most memorable movie experience at the drive in? I have two. The first being "Lady and the Tramp". yep, I first saw this film at a drive in theater. I was excited too, because my mom hyped it up for me. So did my Godmother. They LOVE this film and were so excited that I was goig to see it. Well, needless to say I loved the film too, however, the projectionist was not paying attention, and forgot to change over to the next reel, so the film abruptly stopped during the scene where Lady was fitted with a muzzle. It took a good 5 minutes before the film started back up. Cars were honking, I heard people cursing (which I am sure their children appreciated) and I was left in suspense as to what would happen next to poor Lady. Aww, memories.

The second memorable experience was with "Star Trek The Motion Picture". I will confess I am a Star Trek fan, but my dad was a TREKKER NOT TREKKIE fan. He was DIE HARD! His die hard fandom though would lead to a wonderful friendship over the years with someone really huge with the universe....but that is a story for another time.

Anywho, since my dad was a die hard fan he dragged us both to go see this film at the drive in. The place was PACKED! You would think Jesus announced he was coming back and decided to do it at this drive in theater and wanted all to come watch his floor show or something. We arrived 2 hours before the film and people were already lining up. My dad was not happy because he was afraid we would get a crappy spot. We didn't, but he was freaking out for 2 hours before the opened the gate.

We settled in, got our refreshments (actually dinner) from the refreshment center, and got ready to be BORED TO TEARS BY ONE OF THE MOST B-O-R-I-N-G SCIENCE FICTION MOVIES EVER MADE!!! What made it worse was that the first 15 of the film was dark, so the projection at the drive in was not strong enough for the film. This caused all the horns to go off as angry people were not pleased. Fortunately, the film got lighter after a while, but the film broke twice. The first time people were angry. The second time people were relieved because the film was putting them to sleep.

In 1984, The Drive In shut down. The last double feature played there was "Mortuary" and "The House on Sorority Row". We were there, as well as many others. The next day, it was done. Gone. No more movies. The Drive In concept was declared a dinosaur. In 1986, the lot was finally torn down and turned into a Marriott Inn and Chevy's Restaurant.

And now, The Drive In Theater is a concept of the past. Of nostalgia. Of folklore. A place were you can now only see in films like "Grease". While the picture quality and the sound was not the best, nothing beat the experience of sitting in the back of my family's station wagon, covered in blankets, watching a movie from our car, and then going home. Those are some of my favorite and most cherished memories.

Long live The Drive In Theater.