JournalPage1 To my Children''s Children-1

To Our Children’s Children Journal of Family Memories Prepared by Russell Brooke Cheney For Christmas 2009, my loving daughter Christina Rebecca Cheney Knox gave me a copy of this journal, actually a full-size (8” by 10” hard-cover book), with the request that I work on the Journal with the goal being to help her and her children (Indigo Knox and Zane Knox) share and understand my and my family’s background and history better The hard-cover book is structured with one question / subject per page, specified on top of each page, with lines below allowing for a written response Chrissy’s inside front-cover note: “12-21-2009 To dad- This book has a couple of purposes! To learn more about YOU for you and your family! When you complete this please return to me & I will make a copy for you Please share your answers along the way Love, Chrissy” I am enthusiastic about such a project, both for Chrissy’s reasons, and for the hope that if / when I am recovered from cryopreservation that this Journal may help provide for a more complete recovery I would like to think that such an enormous project as the 234 pages of questions / subjects within the Journal might be approached one at a time, perhaps realistically one question / subject per day, on a regular basis, so that continuing progress might be expected to be maintained I plan to follow the outline provided by the published Journal, but to use the Microsoft WORD software on my PC to speed the process of writing, spell checking, and editing, plus there is the distinct advantage of clarity, since my writer’s tremor can often make my attempts at careful handwriting virtually indecipherable (that Eugene O’Neal should have had such a facility as WORD!) Also, using WORD attachments to emails, on-going communications with Chrissy (and others), should be enormously facilitated It turns out that my brother Ken’s oldest daughter, Dessie, also gave Ken a similar publication as that given to me by Chrissy, also for Christmas 2009! Ken and I are hoping to be able to work together to increase our productivity! =============================================================== Journal Entries: Page 9: What is your name? What state were you born in? What city? What hospital? What is your birth date? What is your spouse’s name? What is your anniversary date? How many children you have? How many grandchildren? What are their names? How old are they? Journal Entry 12/25/2009: Russell Brooke Cheney: “Russell” is a new name in our family history; “Brooke” was the name of my father’s mother, who was much beloved by my father and mother I was embarrassed much of my life by having a “girl’s” name (and therefore formally usually signed my name “Russell B Cheney”), but more recently have become somewhat resolved to “Brooke” and the fact that “Brooke” and “Brook” are used rather interchangeably between guys and gals I was born August 26, 1941 in Trona, California Although I was born just a few weeks before the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, I believe that my birth was not responsible for the attack, or at least that other factors probably composed a stronger influence Trona was a small town founded to support a plant that extracts chemicals from a dried lake in the desert, Searles Lake Our family was in this unlikely place because my father was Superintendent of Schools (actually a combined K-12 school) Main entry to Trona Unified School District facilities Trona was, and still is, just south-west of Death Valley, now a National Park I was born in the regular hospital in Trona; the attending physician was Dr Engle Hanson, our longtime family doctor and friend Spouse: My wife (now divorced) was Diane Marie Card We met in college at Cal Poly Pomona View of Cal Poly campus, Pomona, CA We were married June 10, 1967 After Diane’s two partial-cornea-transplant operations were successful, we had two children, Bradley Bennett and Christina Rebecca My two grandchildren from Chrissy and Tim Knox, are Indigo Mercy (born January 26, 1999) and Zane Justice (born August 14, 2001) Brad’s wife Cathy Meza is now pregnant with what we all hope will be my healthy third grandchild, due about July 2010 Page 10: What is, or was, your occupation? Who is your next of kin? What is your religion? Do you live in an apartment, a house, a condo, or a retirement home? What is your nickname? What was your mother’s name? Your father’s name? Your grandmothers’ names? Your grandfathers’ names? What did you call them? Journal Entry 12/25/2009: Occupations: Driving School: When I had the chance (Saturdays, summers, etc.), for many decades I worked at virtually every conceivable job at my Dad’s driving school (Cheney Bros Driving School) in Hollywood and later in Highland Park I washed cars, both the instruction cars and, when available, the used cars for sale I swept, cleaned toilets, dusted, cleaned windows I was certified by California as an instructor for both automobiles and trucks (“big rigs”, “18 wheelers”), and taught both over several summers; Dad said that I was the youngest certified truck instructor in California (18 years old initially) The big rigs included instruction with “bob cats” (tractor only), single trailer, and doubles (two trailers),backing (with one trailer), hooking and unhooking trailers, double-clutch manually shifting 18-gears (using two transmissions in a single rig), gas and diesel engines, freeway and hill driving I prepared an instruction manual on shifting techniques I spent hundreds of hours running the offset printing press in the trailer, where most all of the office forms and marketing materials were printed It could print a couple of hundred copies per minute from photographic plates they I prepared, in multiple colors (each color required a separate pass) For my Masters of Business Administration I did a computerized office-layout analysis using the largest computer then available at UCLA; it worked on the principle of minimizing work-related traffic within the office Dad made some changes to his office layout based on the results, and I got an MBA degree Programming: With my Masters degree, I was able to obtain a position at TRW in Redondo Beach, CA, as a business programmer, where I learned COBOL; I seemed to have a knack for the language, which was termed “procedural” meaning that you would instruct the computer one step at a time what to to process data It mostly seemed very logical to me Later I learned to design business programs (“analysis”), and spent almost the next 30 years as a business programmer-analyst, at TRW (2-3 years), Price Waterhouse (2 years), Mattel Toy (2-3 years), and Northrop Aircraft Company (20 years) Teaching: During my time with Northrop, I also taught programming-analysis over an 11 year period: a couple of classes at UCLA Extension and many classes at El Camino Community College At ECC we were able to let the students actually program assignments on computers in the labs (procedural: assembler, FORTRAN; higher-level: word processing, EXCELL, etc.) I felt that I was a successful instructor and was able to help many students achieve their goals – two of my students became teachers at ECC, and several hired on at Northrop as programmers) Cryonics: During my last years at Northrop, and especially after retiring, I began working with Alcor Life Extension Foundation to contribute to the success of cryonics (the freezing of people after legal pronouncement of death – but hopefully before actual death - with the aspiration of being able to fully recover the people to full physical and mental health with the advancement of medical science) Alcor building, Scottsdale, AZ I participated in many aspects of cryonics, including working on the Southern California Emergency Recovery Team, initially as a member and later, for years, as the coordinator I prepared standard operating procedures on the tasks we were to perform, and taught over 30 classes on the tasks I was involved in over a dozen standbys (were Team members kept a vigil on Alcor members as need), cryotransports to Scottsdale (the home location of Alcor), and cryopreservations, including photography, documentation, surgical procedures, administration of medications, cardiopulmonary support, and numerous other jobs The operating room becomes very busy during a cryonics case As many as a dozen technicians, surgeons, and support staff are required Procedures are supervised and performed by medical professionals Long-term care cylinders hold the cryopreserved immersed in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celsius Next of Kin: From “A Chronicle of the Clyde Cheney Clan” (1): Hurd and Pheobe Cheney: Melvin Cheney, born Iowa more sons, daughters, Iowa Melvin and Mary Dolph Cheney: Milton Henry Cheney, born 2/12/1859, South Grove, Iowa Andrew and Charlotte SellergrenStrom: Ida Mary, born 10/16/1866, Stockholm, Sweden Anna, born Red Oak, Iowa I need to research this subject more thoroughly I think I was creating a family tree with my work on the Ralph Bennett biography But since the primary emphasis of this Journal is my personal memories, not an historical research project, I will continue to place my emphasis on my memories and perspectives, returning to “Next of Kin” as time allows at a later time What we called them: My father was ”Dad” (“Bapa Tom” to my kids) My mother, “Mom” (“Nana El” to my kids) My father’s mother was “Nana at the Ranch” (“Nana”), and father “Bapa at the Ranch” (“Bapa”) My mother’s mother “Grandma Bell” (“Grandma”), and father “Grandpa Ralph” (“Grandpa”) Religion: I currently not belong to any formally-recognized religion As a teenager, I spent some considerable time with other teens (especially Joe Cobb) at the Eagle Rock United Church on Colorado Blvd (Los Angeles, California), but we really emphasized the social aspects more than the biblical Sometimes I’m asked if cryonics is a religion, but I view cryonics as lacking most of the formal accoutrements of a formal religion, with the primary focus of cryonics being the support of its membership after the failure of current medical technology Some of my cryonics friends belong to traditional formal religious organizations (Christians, Jews), and generally see no conflict in the two Domicile: Since 2005 I have been traveling full-time in my 23’ 1985 Jayco motorhome (fabricated on a Ford E-350 one-ton truck frame) In that five-year period I have visited (however briefly) all 48 contiguous states, been to over 200 National Park Service sites (National Parks, National Monuments, etc.), and visited perhaps a couple of dozen National Wildlife Refuges, as well as exploring many other birding sites and American Automobile Association-TourBook points of interest When I started my “Quest”, I did so without a formal plan, just traveling from one marathon to another, one NPS site to another Still today my long-range planning is often not much more than a couple of days into the future My home is in Torrance, California (5618 Ruby Place, 90503), where for the most part my children Bradley Bennett Cheney and Christina Rebecca Cheney (now Knox) were raised The home is a single-story of about 2000 square feet, with a two-car garage to the side in the back, with a three-car-garage-sized workshop in back (currently used for storage) The lot is relatively large The property was originally purchased about the time of Chrissy’s birth, and is currently leased through a property-management company, to help address many of the detail tasks associated with leasing and maintenance Nickname: I’m usually called Russ or Russell, occasional RBC My sister Coni (Constance Gay Cheney) used to occasionally call me Rusty, presumably for some red in my beard Mom was a true redhead with a corresponding complexion, but my siblings, kids and I did not inherit those traits as predominate Journal Entry 01/24/2010: What was your mother’s name? My Mom’s maiden name was Eleanor Campbell Bennett (born _/ _/1914? in Los Angeles, CA, died _/ _/19 _ in _, CA), Mom was always a slender trim 5’1” or so, and she was a true carrot-top, with deep red hair and a freckled complexion to match, including her arms and legs; she was always careful to avoid too much sun exposure Father’s name? My father was born Thomas Milford Cheney (born _/ _/1912? in Lancaster, CA, died _/ _/19 _ in _, CA), Dad was only about 5’5”, but was stout, strong and always full of energy He had thick black hair which only gradually thinned and became a very dignified silver in his later years Page 11: Were your parents and grandparents born in America? If not, where were they born? What circumstances brought them to the place where you were born? Where there people already there whom they knew, or did they come into the community alone? Was the community welcoming to them? Journal Entry 1/19/2010: Were your parents and grandparents born in America? My Dad was born in Lancaster, California My mother was born in Los Angeles, California I need to research this subject more thoroughly I think I was creating a family tree with my work on the Ralph Bennett biography, and the Cheney Clan Chronicle also might help If not, where were they born? What circumstances brought them to the place where you were born? I was born in Trona, California My family came to be there because Dad had been freshly hired as the superintendent of the local school system, especially to help with the successful construction of the new elementary through high school Dad had started as a high-school teacher shortly after the marriage to my mother, and had gotten a Masters Degree in public education at the University of Southern California, become a highschool principal before taking the Superintendent position Where there people already there whom they knew, or did they come into the community alone? So far as I am aware, Mom and Dad knew nobody in Trona when they first arrived Was the community welcoming to them? But the community was welcoming to their new superintendent, and Mom and Dad were friendly sociable folks and quickly fit into the small-town community Dad was responsible for hiring a number of new teachers and staff members, including Max Rafferty who was later to be elected the California State Superintendent; I can still remember some of the very friendly sociable evenings that Mom and Dad had at our little home with the Raffertys, usually playing poker for miniscule stakes but lots of talk Page 12: Do you have brothers and sisters? What are their names? How old were you when they were born? Do you remember the first time you saw them? Do you remember ever playing a trick on your brother or sister? What pictures come to mind when you think back about playing together? Journal Entry 12/26/2009: Siblings: My brother Kenneth Burns Cheney was born November 10, 1934 Since he was years older than I, he often seemed almost like a second father to me, especially in the years that Dad was so busy with the driving school business I not remember the first time that I saw Ken, but I was probably a few days old at the time I remember when I got my first bicycle: it was in Trona We lived on Holly Street, with the other town’s “big shots.” By today’s standards, the houses were rudimentary, with no 2009-standard no air conditioning (although it did have swamp cooler(s); big, powerful fans and quite effective since the climate was very dry), no TV, no garbage disposal, no electronics, with Ken and I sharing a small bedroom with a bunkbed; but for Trona of the 1940s, it was one of the nicest residences in town There was little traffic on Holly, and I was permitted to try the new bike on the street The concept seemed simple: while pedaling, steer into the direction of the fall, but I was doing embarrassingly poorly, falling and getting yelled at by my whole family right out where all the neighbors could see and comment on my ineptitude The problem was compounded by the fact that the bike’s size was extra large (to give me “growing room”) so it was not possible to mount the seat from the pedal – a running leap onto the saddle was required, making the subsequent fall to the pavement all that much greater Then Ken had me stop for a moment, came over to the bike and examined the handle bars He discovered that the point of attachment to the front stem was loose! When it was tightened, I was able to ride immediately, with much gratitude to my older brother My sister Constance Gay Cheney was born August 7, 1944 I not remember first seeing her; it was probably a couple of weeks after she was born, because Mom had Coni in Los Angeles while the rest of the family stayed in Trona, I think so that her mother, Grandma Bell, who lived in LA, could help her I probably first saw Coni at just about my 3rd birthday She may have sometimes seemed like a girlish intrusion on my boyish life; she was always very feminine, very pretty, and usually let others know that she was there and had an opinion to share I remember playing a trick on both my siblings for which I got into a lot of trouble I put sugar in the dinner salt shaker When Ken and Coni both left the table after only a few bites of Mom’s carefully prepared dinner, Mom asked what was wrong I admitted my joke, and was clearly led to understand that such an act was wantonly mean and low down I have since never repeated that ruse, even on my best friends Page 13: What about your aunts and uncles? What did they look like? Did they play an important part in your growing up? Did you play with your cousins? Did the families get together much casually, or did you have to travel and dress up to spend time together? What about your aunts and uncles? Journal Entry 01/05/2010: My favorite uncle was Dick Cheney (born _/ _/19 _ as Richard Cheney in , died _/ _/19 _ in Lancaster, CA), one of my Dad’s two younger brothers Uncle Dick always had a friendly camaraderie about him that made me feel at home and comfortable I always had the feeling that he thought that I was special (I think he affected everybody that way, which can certainly help make a person successful in life!) Some of my favorite memories of Uncle Dick revolve around trips to Catalina Island That’s the same Catalina Island as in the Four Preps hit song, “26 Miles – Santa Catalina.” Twenty- six miles across the sea Santa Catalina is a-waitin' for me Santa Catalina, the island of romance, romance, romance, romance Water all around it everywhere Tropical trees and the salty air But for me the thing that's a-waitin' there-romance It seems so distant, twenty-six miles away Restin' in the water serene I'd work for anyone, even the Navy Who would float me to my island dream Twenty- six miles, so near yet far I'd swim with just some water-wings and my guitar I could leave the wings but I'll need the guitar for romance, romance, romance, romance A tropical heaven out in the ocean Covered with trees and girls If I have to swim, I'll it forever Till I'm gazin' on those island pearls Forty kilometers in a leaky old boat Any old thing that'll stay afloat When we arrive we'll all promote romance, romance, romance, romance The island was owned privately for many decades by the Wriggly family (of Wriggly Spearmint chewing-gum fame), and has always been carefully cared for to help keep it in its natural state as much as possible For instance, just a small portion of the lee side was set aside for the village of Avalon and its small harbor, with considerable restrictions as to building codes, areas allowed for construction, etc The circular Avalon Ballroom is one of the best-known structures on the Island Special ferries carried tourists the 26-miles from the mainland to this “exotic paradise,” which had glass-bottom boat tours, deep-sea fishing charters, a quaint front street right on the beach at the harbor (totally probably less than a mile in length), with many trails leading to exciting and mysterious places to explore Dad and Dick got along great, and Dick invited our whole family to accompany him and his beautiful wife Joy (born _/ _/19 _ as Joyous in , died _/ _/19 _ in _, CA), to Avalon on several occasions The waters on the lee side of Catalina are world famous for their giant kelp beds, pristine waters, abundance of myriads of fish species (including huge giant grouper weighing in at several hundred pounds, brilliant orange aggressive 10” Garibaldi, down to brightly-colored finger-sized fish hiding in most crevasses) Of special note were the abundant abalone, a perennial gourmet favorite of the Island that Dick taught us how to catch Dick had all the equipment on board his 35’ Chris-Craft yacht (except wetsuit!) needed to capture these wily mollusks, including swim fins, facemasks and abalone bars (often old curved car leaf-springs cut down to about 12” that, with the right technique, could be used to quickly pry the abalone off the rocks, if you could hold your breath long enough without blacking out and find them hidden under the eel grass) Dick taught us how to stealthily but quickly catch abalone, clean out the meat, carefully scrape the inside of the pearly multicolored shell, pound the foot (meat until it was tender, and take the hard-won result to the best restaurant in Avalon where a scrumptious meal was prepared for us all Journal Entry 01/23/2010: Dick was the door into new universes for me He introduced me and my family to the relatively new sport (at that time) of recreational water skiing We began by throwing out a line (rope) behind Dick’s yacht; Dick jumped into the “freezing” (maybe in the 50 degrees) ocean water on the lee side of Catalina, put his feet into rubber stirrups on a board (a “single ski”), and yelled at Joyous to “gun it!!” By the time the slack was out of the line, the yacht was moving fast enough to jerk Dick right out of the water to a standing position Once up, Dick seemed perfectly stable and able to anything, skiing way off to either side of the yacht, jumping over the yacht’s big wake, and handling the constant big Pacific swells as though they were part of the fun Dick had a knack for explaining complicated things in a simple way so that most people would quickly understand So Dick would tell us a few simple tricks (“Wait until you’re moving pretty good before standing up, elbows and knees straight”) and then he put us in the open ocean water with a pair of double skis (one ski for each foot), and exhibit infinite patience with out falls caused by standing too soon, by erratic ocean waves, trying new maneuvers, etc.: “Hey, you’re doing swell”; “That’s the longest you’ve been up yet”; “Hit the wake at a sharper angle”; “Relax, you look great!”; etc Learning to water ski at Catalina had some considerations For one, the water is exceptionally cold for the latitude Why? Because there is an immense underwater canyon off shore that directs deep, much colder water, right up to the surface This water has extra oxygen (cold water can retain more oxygen then warm), and therefore has more phytoplankton and other marine life than is usual in this part of the California Coast This abundance of marine life carries right up the food chain through extraordinary numbers and varieties of fish species, mammals, sharks, and so on Catalina is world famous for its fishing and awesome kelp beds The waves I already mentioned; a neophyte skier can be knocked down by waves just about as fast as he can stand up Most recreation is done on the “lee” side of Catalina, the side facing the mainland, opposite of the prevailing winds and waves The Island is roughly parallel to the Coast, both cocked about 45 degrees, so the mainland is north-east from the Island Of course there is always the possibility of a shark problem, but for some reason that the scientists not yet understand (that I know of), the incidence of man-eating sharks along this part of the coast is unusual, and attacks rare (while in the water, I was never molested at Catalina) On the positive side of skiing at Catalina, away from the Avalon and Two Harbors areas, there was minimal boat traffic (skiing in freshwater lakes near LA can be hazardous due to boat traffic – while pulling Brad one time we observed another ski boat pulling a skier drive completely up on shore, the skipper having paid more attention to the skier than to where he was going) And the waters around Catalina were absolutely pristine, the venue unparallel in beauty On later trips, Dick towed a smaller (maybe about 14’) launch behind the yacht which was especially fun for water skiing And Dick introduced us to single-ski skiing I remember that, for some reason, my brother Ken really took to the single ski, saying it seemed easier than keeping track of two separate skis, and cutting fearlessly directly through the wakes and skiing (so it seemed) dierectly beside the tow This was especially strange because, although Ken was a fabulous athlete, his forte seemed to lie with upperbody strength and dexterity, in gymnastics competing successfully for many years on the rings, including winning the National AAU (American Athletic Association) championship on the swinging rings, an exciting event to watch similar to the flying trapeze in the better circuses He’d had persistent knee problems, dislocating one knee cap several times until finally knee surgery was undertaken Yet there he was, zooming around on a single ski like he was born to it! The joy of water skiing and related sports was so deeply entrenched in me that I often skied as an adult, using my 17’ Boston Whaler, with Diane, Brad and Chrissy later joining me Journal Entry 01/23/2010 PM: Dick was usually a very gentle teacher, but once when I really blew it, he let me know in no uncertain terms He had taught me how to pilot the new power boat; it was hot It looked diminutive, but was powerful enough to pop a skier right up out of the water from a standing start One afternoon, when I was at the helm returning, I powered almost right up to the side of the yacht and slammed the transmission into reverse, stopping the ski boat just before it touched the transom It was instantly made VERY clear to me that this was not responsible mariner behavior; sailors always must assume that the transmission could fail, so you always bring your craft GENTLY alongside its destination I still blush at the lesson, and I never forgot! Another door to an entirely new universe opened for me by my Uncle Dick was SCUBA diving At that time it had just begun to emerge as a form of recreation, from its roots in warfare and industrial application SCUBA: Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, now usually written “scuba” In those days the tanks contained dried and compressed normal air The sports diver usually wore a scuba tank with straps around the waist and shoulders, a face mask covering the eyes and nose, a snorkel (to help breath when on the surface, to conserve air), swim fins, and a belt with lead weights If the diver did not wear a wet suit (neoprene material that permitted the entry of some water which would theoretically warm up and help keep the body insulated), dives were most usually relatively short (under 20 minutes) and not too deep, thereby avoiding the infamous nitrogen narcoses and the bends Dick gave us lessons with his scuba gear on the fly, primarily telling us to be sure to exhale as we ascended, to allow the expanding air to escape without damaging our lungs From 33’ air double its volume upon reaching the surface Breathing under the water was extremely weird, new and exciting Being right in the ocean with all the giant kelp, bright orange Garibaldi and other fish and animals at Catalina was like visiting another planet Dick loaned us his scuba gear and we were able to use it in our swimming pool for many hours We became extremely comfortable with breathing underwater, feeling our buoyancy change as we inhaled and exhaled, eliminating excess water from our face mask, using the snorkel with the extra weight of the tank, and all the myriad of little things that would add up to becoming extremely comfortable in the open ocean Once a person becomes “at one” with all the necessary equipment and techniques, once all becomes second nature, then one naturally moves their attention outside of themselves and into the underwater world around them, with all its strangeness and marvels and learning possibilities For me, scuba expanded to include more trips to Catalina with Dick, with Connie’s boyfriend Ken _ for ”treasure hunting” trips on the steel-hulled Star of India wreck 110’ down four miles off the Port of Los Angeles breakwater (Diane and I recovered and renovated a beautiful bronze porthole cover), taking and graduating from the most-challenging and exciting 18th County of Los Angeles Underwater Instructor Training Course and meeting several treasured friends who I would come to trust my life with, purchasing and using the 17’ Boston Whaler boat (rigged for scuba diving) on many dozens of ocean adventures, being boarded by armed officers of the United States Coast Guard as being suspected drug runners (resulting in vast disappointment on their part, but relief and amusement on our part – our scuba cylinders were full of compressed air, not drugs!), many night dives for giant lobster (5’ long from tip of tail to end of extended antenna), on-board transportation of giant kelp 25 miles from Point Dume to Palos Verdes Peninsula as part of (eventually) successful reforestation, countless fun dives with friends at Catalina and along the mainland coast, the scores of underwater photographs take (some of which were published – the light source frequently being flash bulbs used underwater, sometimes resulting in a head-slapping implosion), the careful collecting of underwater specimens for the cooled home saltwater aquarium (including a mermaid’s purse which later gave birth to a live shark), the special trip that just Brad and I took to Catalina (where low-lying fog on the crossing gave rise to a phenomenal rare and bright circular “fogbow” above our heads) From Ken 1/6 in response to the above 1/5 additions: Hi Russ, He also had the first TV I remember seeing, we would take dinner to his apartment and watch TV occasionally We often met him camping over all the years, perhaps my fondest memories of him Ken Journal Entry 01/20/2010: My Dad’s other brother was Jim, (born _/ _/19 _ as James Cheney in , died _/ _/19 _ in Lancaster, CA, of colon cancer), also younger than Dad Although family get-togethers with Jim were probably less frequent than with Dick, the gatherings were always warm and friendly They lived in the San Fernando Valley, before the freeways perhaps 90 minutes from our home in Eagle Rock Jim’s second wife, the only one I recall meeting, was Mildred They lived in a modern housing tract built where formerly there were huge expanses of walnut groves, with a number of the trees still scattered about., enough so that in the spring Jim’s allergies caused him great distress It was Jim and Dick who had started the Cheney Brothers Driving School after World War Two, while Dad was becoming the Trona superintendent When Dad had decided to move on from the superintendent position (more on that elsewhere), his brothers suggested that he join them at the Driving School in Hollywood, to which, after long and agonizing consideration, he finally acceded Thus when I became old enough to be issued a California Learners Permit (a long-awaited and WONDERFUL event in my life!), Dad stipulated that I must receive at least 35 hours of professional driving instruction, by himself, my brother Ken (who had become a certified California driving instructor), and by Jim As it turned out, this was the best opportunity in my life to get to know Jim personally, who had formally seemed rather distant Jim wanted to include stick-shift (manual transmission) in my instruction, even though by that time (1957) it had become clearly evident that automatic transmissions were here to stay I wanted to learn EVERYTHING about driving, manual included So Jim arranged for our instruction to be in an odd hybrid automobile that you could shift (including the manual clutch!), but when coming to a stop if you forgot the clutch the engine would not stall! Definitely weird! And perfect for learning I was happy as a clam; I think I just about drove Jim crazy with all my questions about shifting (“Should I shift now?” “What if I shift too soon?” “Too late?” “Will the engine blow up?” and on and on) But Jim seemed infinitely patient, never showed a hint of annoyance I remember pulling up to a stop sign on a side street going into a very busy boulevard; although I was a beginner, it seemed quite obvious to me that we did not want to immediately pull out into the stream of vehicles in out little underpowered car So we sat there a moment, Jim apparently totally unperturbed and comfortable in my judgment Then as the traffic flow continued unabated, a large car pulled up behind us and without pausing to take a breath, the driver started blowing his horn It was so load that I actually physically jumped, and at once mentally began questioning my judgment; I reexamined the flow of vehicles, but it went on unabated Jim seemed to glance in his rearview mirror, and said with utterly causal distain, “Some idiots have no sense whatsoever.” I remember this so clearly because it instantly conveyed a world of information to me that has affected much of my driving since: that my original judgment was correct, that I should not be persuaded by other’s misjudgment, that Jim had seen this all before and that I should always be reasoned and calm when driving, As unaffected as Jim appeared to have been, within a minute or so it happened that this same vehicle stopped beside us at a red light; Jim lowered his power window, turned to the driver beside us, and calmly told him he was an idiot, then raised his window with no response from the apparently stunned driver Jim’s only other comment, to me, was that some dumb drivers just honk at the driving-school sign on the top of the instruction car, not at the driver Jim also led me to understand the dangers inherent in left turns from a highway without a left-turn lane, describing them as exceedingly treacherous “Whenever possible, they should be avoided, even to the point of making three right turns to avoid one unprotected left turn.” This was forcefully brought to my attention several years later when one of my friends was rear-ended in attempting to make a left turn in such a situation The fact that he did not want to accept my advice on avoiding a repetition has made me wonder, over the many years since, why it is not acceptable in American society for men to give other men driving tips Over 35,000 Americans are killed – including over 20,000 drivers (http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx), and an estimated 200,000 seriously injured each year on our highways, yet there is little general knowledge accepted as to how the individual drivers can avoid such slaughter Years later Dad told me that Jim had stopped working at the Driving School, that one day after a haircut Jim refused to leave the barber chair, and no longer would work This was incomprehensible to Dad, who worked typically 7-day 17-hours-a-day weeks To me it seemed simple: Jim got tired of teaching driving Journal Entry 01/19/2010: My closest uncle, geographically, was John Vandertuin (born _/ _/19 _ as John Vandertuin in , died _/ _/19 _ in Tujunga, CA),, who lived in Tujunga, about 15 miles as the crow flies, but because of the hills, about a 45 minutes drive before the freeways were built John had a piano-refinishing business close to the border of Eagle Rock and Glendale, which was about a minute drive from our home in Eagle Rock John refinished all pianos so they looked brand new Physically, John always looked like Tarzan, dark hair, tall (maybe 6’ 2”?), with a muscular frame, which he always moved like an athlete John always seemed to have a positive attitude on life, finding the humor in almost any situation I remember riding with him once in his small panel-sided work truck; from a side street, as we approached the stop sign at busy sixlane Eagle Rock Blvd, he did not slow for the stop sign As he noticed the traffic on the boulevard was not giving him the right-of-way, he put his left fist out the driver’s-side window and began bellowing – all traffic came to a stop, and without slowing John proceeded to make the left turn I was stunned speechless (John was always the most cautious of drivers); he turned to me and calmly asked, “Was there a stop sign there for us?” When I answered in the affirmative, he just calmly laughed, saying only, “Oh, I didn’t see it.” I think he had what was called a charismatic personality, apparently evident from inside his truck to a whole boulevard full of traffic John loved dance, and for many years participated in community musicals with his daughters In the dance, John’s athleticism and joi d’vivre were abundantly apparent John was married to my Mom’s sister Barbara (born _/ _/19 _ as Barbara Bennett in Los Angeles, CA, died _/ _/19 _ in Tujunga, CA), who was a buxom 5feet brunet mom, seamstress, and cook who could bake delicious breads, cookies, muffins, or anything else that would fit in an oven She kept a very friendly informal cluttered house full of homey things I think I never heard a cross word from her in the many decades I knew her In most all of our families’ get-togethers, Barbara and John seemed to have fun new board and athletic games ready for all of us to play, often with the rules and equipment hand-created by Barbara and John, as for instance a full set of bean bags balanced perfectly for single / multiple-person juggling, which my brother Ken got amazingly good with I guess we probably got together with the Vandertuins (including my three cousins) more often than any other relatives, maybe formally three or four times a year, and informally perhaps a little more often Mom and Barbara seemed to especially enjoy each others company as close sisters, even though their husbands were so different Journal Entry 01/22/2010: My fourth uncle was Frank Sullivan (born _/ _/19 _ as _ in , died _/ _/19 _ in _, CA), Frank was about 5’6” with a chubby frame and an auburn complexion that could flush quite red when he got excited, which he did fairly often Dad seemed to enjoy talking to Frank about Frank’s profession; I believe he worked for a national financial institution, such as would provide mortgages for homes / businesses I loved listening to their conversations, but there was much said that I didn’t understand, and some of the things Frank said didn’t seem to make too much common sense Sometimes when later I’d ask Dad about these questions, often he’d say something like, “I don’t know; the next time we’re with Frank let’s ask him that question.” I’d probably be better off today if I had understood everything Frank was saying Frequently when we got together with the Sullivan’s we’d play poker for fun; well, all of us except Frank, who took the game pretty seriously I think he felt that skill was very important in poker, which demonstrated intelligence, so he would try to always come out ahead Sometimes during these family card games his face would get so red it looked like it might explode After Diane joined our family as my wife, she really enjoyed these poker games too Diane especially enjoyed Dad’s constant verbal contributions to the game, always keeping things light and enjoyable Diane was (is) extremely smart, Bachelors from Cal Poly Pomona and extensive post-graduate education specializing in children with reading deficits And she liked to win at cards, with a natural instinct for the betting odds But Diane’s approach to poker was outwardly almost the exact opposite of Frank’s Likely as not if Diane knew we were going to be playing poker, she would wear one of her blond wigs These wigs were special; they were high quality, and if you’d not known Diane before she put on the wig, you’d most-likely assume it was her real hair Diane was a very outgoing person anyway, but when she put on one of these special blond wigs, she became positively hysterical, full of laughter and ditsy comments and banter, very much like a I-Love-Lucy in person So if you can picture this very serious poker player, Frank, at the same table as this apparently blond bubblehead, that’s the scenario Diane might be happily talking about something totally irrelevant to the poker hand being dealt, Frank’s face would begin getting redder, and Diane might glance at her cards then blurt out, “Oh, remind me again, are two pair better then three of the same number?” Frank would like as not be squirming in his chair as somebody answered the question, then when the betting was done and Diane had beaten Frank’s three aces with a full house as she asked the question, “Is one pair and three of a kind any good?”, I swear I was concerned that Frank’s apoplexy would actually result in a heart attack right there on the spot Journal Entry 01/31/2010: How Lionel trains, Uncle Frank, and Dad’s humor relate to each other? The Cheney family has had a long-standing tradition of collecting Lionel trains: Engine from a 1920s Lionel passenger set I can remember when living in Trona (mid-1940s) of Dad and Ken working with some of our family’s electrified Lionel trains I was absolutely beside myself with fascination and enthusiasm, all the more so because I was repeatedly told that I was “too young” to play with or even touch any part of the sets Gradually over time, however, I was permitted to touch and work with various components, starting with Lionel’s unique and sturdy three-rail track Over the years select pieces and sets were added to the collection By the time the family moved to Eagle Rock in north LA (1949), we were permitted to, from time-to-time, set up informal layouts on half of the garage, on the floor I progressively learned to connect track and switches (both manual and remotely controlled), lay in operating-car track sections and signals, set up and load operating cars, hook up the transformers, and debug many inoperative circuits and equipment I soon learned to recognize the smell of ozone (O3, versus normal breathing oxygen O2), indicating the presence of a short circuit I particularly remember one boxcar Dad got me for Christmas which could be operated remotely to slide open its door whereupon a man in railroad garb would move to the door and wave: HOWDY After my son Brad was born (April 27, 1972), some considerable discussion occurred among the interested parties of the Cheney Clan, especially promulgated by Dad, and it was decided that it would be appropriate for the Cheney Lionel collection to have a name The name “Bradley Railroad Company” was suggested, considered at some length, and finally deemed appropriate in every regard The following business card was therefore created: _ | | | Bradley Railroad Company | | | | Guaranteed Dividends | | | | M Cheney | | | Now you might wonder, and you might ask, how can any company GUARANTEE dividends? And so far as I am aware, no other company ever has So the Bradley Railroad Company was unique in this regard Its secret? The Company’s dividends were paid in the fun and joy of participation by the stockholders The new railroad company also had a song, adapted from the traditional folk ballad “Railroad Bill”: Railroad Brad, Railroad Brad He never worked, and that ain’t bad, So ride with Railroad Brad Railroad Brad's a mighty mean man Shot the light out the brakeman's hand Railroad Brad, up on a hill Lightin' a cigar with a ten-dollar bill Goin' on a mountain, goin' out west Thirty-eight special tucked under my vest Got a thirty-special in a forty-five frame, I can't miss 'cause I got dead aim Early one morning, standing in the rain Round the bend come a long freight train Over time, Brad added many verses to the traditional song On his final and successful assault of the contiguous-48-states highest-peak, Mt Whitney, California (14,500’), there is one seemingly endless stretch that was purported to have 99 switchbacks To keep track of our progress, Brad started counting each turn as we made the switchback; to this was soon added an appropriate rhyming lyric to the Company song Thus, for switchback number twenty-three, Brad might improvise: High on the mountain at twenty-three, Railroad Brad’s happy as can be Being curious to see just how far he could go on this creative project, I let him continue on his own, memorializing every single turn in unique rhyme and song without a single repetition; how many switchbacks did it turn out there were? Exactly 99! After Dad (Bapa Tom) initiated the concept of the Bradley RR Company, he came up with another interesting idea: What if we were to sell stock in the new Company? After all, how many new companies can offer both a company song and Guaranteed Dividends?? So Dad got hold of a standard legal stock certificate form, modified it for purposes of the Bradley RR Company, photographed it, created an aluminum printing-plate for his offset printing press at the Driving School, and ran off quite a few very official-looking stock certificates Dad really got into this; he completed a number of certificates for current members of the Company, such as Board of Director members, various vice-presidents, president, and so forth Then with appropriate cover letters, Dad mailed these certificates to “prospective stockholders” including all my uncles The letter mailed to Frank was especially carefully prepared, because of course my Uncle Frank was arguably the most financially sophisticated And whereas most of the recipients seemed to have immediately caught on to the spirit of the corporation, Frank seemed puzzled, and communicated a number of questions to Dad, such as how a corporation could legally “guarantee” stock dividends Dad had carefully convoluted answers for every question, which seemed to baffle Frank to an ever greater extent Finally Dad convinced Frank to become a significant stockholder of the new company with the understanding that he would be able to operate some of the newly purchased equipment at that year’s Christmas get-together at our home in Torrance Dad had a plan Before Frank’s arrival, Dad had a practical joke that he played successfully on just about all of us He would operate the “new voice-command” engine equipment with instructions such as “START!” “STOP!,” “SLOW!,” “FASTER!,” “WHISTLE!” given in the most authoritative manner: The latest voice-command railroad equipment The result was amazing and impressive; with virtually every verbal instruction, the engine, pulling its entire consist, would immediately respond; one wondered if the voicecommand unit was in the new tender, because the engines were usually completely filled with the electric motor, lights, gears, etc It was all perfectly fantastic, until one noticed Dad’s accomplice sitting quietly off in the corner of the room operating the transformer and all remote controls! So before Frank’s arrival, Dad had us all “on board,” we were well practiced and ready to go With Frank entrance, in front of the whole family, he was introduced to the new pieces of rolling stock, equipment and all Bradley Railroad Company’s operations Dad gave him a full demonstration of the voice command equipment; Frank was obviously fascinated, and finally asked if he could participate Dad seemed to hesitate, and told him that not everyone could understand the procedure, nor make the new equipment operate correctly immediately, but as an important stock holder he should at least be given the opportunity And I’ll say this for Frank, he really got into the effort with his total person He tried all the commands Most generally the train seemed to just ignore him, although sometimes altering its behavior slightly Dad kept coaching Frank, getting him to alter his tone, and the timbre and emphasis of his syllables Frank kept trying and kept trying We’ll never know how long this could have gone on, because finally Dad, mercifully, pointed out to Frank the remote control operator Interestingly, in contrast, Uncle John contributed (modestly) to the Bradley Railroad Company stock almost immediately, and upon arrival at our home managed to catch the remote operator right away and thought the whole practical joke quite hilarious Another note on the Bradley RR: much of its operations were based on the Santa Fe Railroad, with acquisition of certain pieces of rolling stock, as for instance the modern General Motors F-3 diesel-electric engines which replaced most of the steam engines of the 1940s: Diesel-electric replacement to steam Frank was married to Mom’s other sister, Gay (born _/ _/19 _ as Gay Bennett in Los Angeles, CA, died _/ _/19 _ in _, CA), The later meaning for “gay” obviously was not in vogue at Gay’s birth, but so far as I’m aware, she never did express any desire to be called by another handle, unlike my sister Constance Gay who switched her preference to “Connie” Gay was about 5’2” and lightly built like my Mom She and her two sisters all seemed to enjoy each other’s company, and somehow, without ever being told, they gave me the impression that growing up together without any bothers, that early in life they formed a secret pact that they would never reveal to another living sole, that they shared only with each other, and which allowed them to extract extra joy from the world and life Wish we could ask ‘em their secret now, huh? Gay and Frank also had a nice middle-class house in a San Fernando Valley tract neighborhood maybe constructed in the 1950s, similar in general appearance to Mildred and Jim’s home, except the Jim’s had four rambunctious kids and the Sullivan’s just one fairly quiet girl, so, perhaps as a consequence, the inside of the Sullivan’s home always seemed more pristine and similar to a showcase from the magazine Home and Garden, with dainty gewgaws on glass shelves, etc As I was growing up, I think of my four uncles and aunts’ families, we probably got together with the Sullivan’s the least, maybe a couple of times a year They probably lived about an hour’s drive (before the freeways) from our home in Eagle Rock _ (1): “A Chronicle of the Clyde Cheney Clan, Eleanor Brooke Hitte Cheney and Clyde Cheney, 1975, 1981, printed by Tom Cheney.” ... perspectives, returning to “Next of Kin” as time allows at a later time What we called them: My father was ”Dad” (“Bapa Tom” to my kids) My mother, “Mom” (“Nana El” to my kids) My father’s mother... Automobile Association-TourBook points of interest When I started my “Quest”, I did so without a formal plan, just traveling from one marathon to another, one NPS site to another Still today my. .. with my work on the Ralph Bennett biography But since the primary emphasis of this Journal is my personal memories, not an historical research project, I will continue to place my emphasis on my