Obsessed with sewing wrap-around skirts, on my Mom’s new Singer Sewing Machine

Posted on April 9, 2014 by saffronsrule

September 9, 1964, Wednesday. Went to the show.

Cut out one of my skirts, an orange jean material, wrap-around, than laid out in the sun until 3:00 and went back and worked on the skirt. Doctor Jenson, came over and massaged my neck and really touched off my nerves. I took my sister Donna and her friend Linda K. to get some hair stuff, than went to Fosters. Pearl P. and Dianne B. were there. They were going to the show, so they followed me home so I could drop off my car and go with them. We saw “The New Interns.” So bitchen! Than we drove around, saw some cute boys who told us Mark Escovar was having a party. But it was too late and Dianne had to be home by 12:30, so we just went home.

Two years after the success of The Interns (1962) came this follow-up tale of medical interns during their first year working in a hospital.

September 10, 1964, Thursday.

Stayed home all day and finished my skirt and started making a new one. This time it’s a pink jean material straight skirt. I’m actually good at making clothes from a McCalls Simplicity patterns, using mom’s Singer Sewing Machine.

Wrap-Around skirt was so easy to make and very popular to wear in 1964

I love that more than one pattern was included. I made the easy straight-skirt pattern in this one.

My mom bought this new Singer Sewing Machine, because she was an excellent seamstress and since most of my friends had one, she thought Donna and should learn to sew as well. Soon I was creating my own designs, by taking apart clothes at the seams and using them as patterns.

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Posted in 1960's Surf Culture, 1964 High School Diary, Chick Secrets, diary, Maybelline Girl, memoir, REALITY BLOG, Southern California 1964, teenage reality blog | Tagged 1964, 1964 film The New Interns, Culver High School, Maybelline, Maybelline Story, McCall's Simplicity Patterns, Saffrons Rule, Sharrie Williams, Singer Sewing Machine, Southern California, Surfer's Rule, West Side Surfers, Westchester High School | Leave a comment

Watching the amazing old 1937 movie “The Good Earth” always makes me cry

Posted on April 8, 2014 by saffronsrule

September 8, 1964, Tuesday. Club Night.

Pearl and I went shopping and I bought material to make skirts. Shopped all day, was so tired, came home and ate! Than picked up my sister Donna and her friend Dianne S. Went to a Saffron Meeting at Patty Carol’s, than to Toes and Fosters, but no one good was there, so went to Pearl’s and cut out name tags for the Saffron Tea. Than we went back to Fosters and back again to Pearl’s to watch TV. I stayed until 11:00 than went home and watched the “Good Earth”…so sad I cried. Still felt sick and ate to much, finally went to bed at 2:00.

The Good Earth – Amazing Scene

I often stayed up until 2:00 in the morning watching old movies. Everyone was asleep and the house was dark and quite. Sometimes I’d turn on the fireplace and watch them in the dark with a flickering fire. I cried when I watched sad movies, just like my dad. This movie was so painfully sad and yet a masterpiece as a book and a film. If you have never seen it be sure to catch it if you can.

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Posted in 1960's Surf Culture, 1964 High School Diary, Chick Secrets, diary, Little Sisters, Maybelline Girl, memoir, REALITY BLOG, Southern California 1964, teenage reality blog | Tagged 1937, Beach, Culver High School, Film, Fosters Freeze, Luise Rainer, Maybelline, Maybelline Story, Saffron Tea, Saffrons Rule, Sharrie Williams, shopping, Southern California, Surfer's Rule, teenagers, The Good Earth, Toes in Playa Del Rey, West Side Surfers, Westchester High School | Leave a comment

We called Nana, “Camille,” because like a hypochondriac she suffered from nervous conditions

Posted on April 7, 2014 by saffronsrule

September 7, 1964, Monday. Felt better at last.

Did my hair and got dressed. Very sad, not only have I been sick half the Summer, but I lost my tan taking 4 baths a day. Mary and Granddaddy came over so did Nana… Nana’s moving again and all she does is talk about her head, we can hardly stand it. The Doctor say’s there is nothing wrong with her but her nerves. The pool is coming along fine, but it sure is small. Only 3 to 5 feet deep and 15 by 30 feet long. But it will look better when it’s done I guess.

Can you imagine the worst thing that happened all Summer was I lost my tan

Nana like her father and maybe all of us…seemed to suffer from nervous conditions…and was a bit of a hypochondriac. We’d call her Camille, taken from Greta Garbo’s famous 1936 film, Camille. Here are pictures of Garbo suffering during her death scene. Garbo’s portrayal of the beautiful but sickly Parisian courtesan, who fatefully falls in love with a young French nobleman (25 year-old Robert Taylor), is widely considered the definitive version of the Camille story

.http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/334926/Camille-Movie-Clip-You-Look-Ill-Too.html

The pool was made with an Whril-Jet Jacuzzi attached to it and my parents called it a health pool. A Whril-Jet stainless steal chair was permanently attached in the Jacuzzi so you could lay back and the nozzles would hit every part of your body. After your treatment, you’d jump in the cold water and swim, then you’d get back in the hot water, until you were totally relaxed. It was a new product and my dad always bought the newest everything. My parents liked the shallow pool, because Billee and Preston were little kids and they felt it was safer than a deep swimming pool.

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Posted in 1960's Surf Culture, 1964 High School Diary, Chick Secrets, diary, Maybelline Girl, memoir, REALITY BLOG, Southern California 1964, teenage reality blog | Tagged 1936 film Camille, building a pool, Culver High School, getting tan, Greta Garbo, Maybelline, Maybelline Story, Saffrons Rule, Sharrie Williams, Surfer's Rule, West Side Surfers, Westchester High School | Leave a comment

If I only had the perfect boyfriend my life wouldn’t be so sad!

Posted on April 4, 2014 by saffronsrule

August 30, 1964, Sunday. Had a temperature of 104 degrees

Was sick all day. I wonder if Howard is as sick as I am. He got mad at me last night because I acted so dumb at Denny’s. Like putting sugar in the mustard and loosening the salt shaker lid and turning it upside down, so the salt would pour all over the counter. He acted like he likes Pearl. She’d go out with him I can tell. My fever was so high I couldn’t move. Al called for Pearl’s number, he wants to ask her out. (probably got it for Howard.) She’d never go out with Al. Then, Sandy’s brother Steve Block called again, he wants me to go out with his college roommate. I told him to ask Pearl. I was very sick all night…. Then my little sister Billee, told mom I went out last night and my parents blew up! In fact my mom was going to call Howard and tell him off. I could kill Billee for telling her.

Dear Diary I’m sick with my stomach sickness again. It’s ruining my life and it makes me want to give up. Please bring me a boyfriend who cares about me. I’m so sad and lonely.

August 31, 1964, Monday

Daddy left for a hunting trip today. I was so upset I cried, because he was leaving. He’s never gone hunting before. I just pray he’ll come home safe.

September 1, 1964, Tuesday

Sick

September 2, 1964, Wednesday

Sick

September 3, 1964, Thursday

Sick, went to the Doctor’s today, but he couldn’t do anything for me. I’m in terrible pain.

September 4, 1964, Friday

Sick

September 5, 1964, Saturday

Sick

September 6, Sunday

Sick
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Posted in 1960's Surf Culture, 1964 High School Diary, Chick Secrets, diary, Little Sisters, Maybelline Girl, memoir, REALITY BLOG, Southern California 1964, teenage reality blog | Tagged 1964, Culver City, Culver City California, Culver High School, dating, denn, fighting with my boyfriend, fighting with parents, Maybelline, Maybelline Story, Playa del Rey Los Angeles, Saffrons Rule, Sharrie Williams, Sick, Southern California, Surfer's Rule, teenagers, United States, West Side Surfers, Westchester High School | Leave a comment

The Westchester California band was known as the Crossfires in 1964, before becoming The Turtles.

Posted on April 3, 2014 by saffronsrule

August 29, 1964, Saturday. I was with Howard and was at the dance with the Crossfires in Westchester.

Was sick all day, but finally went to our family friend’s the Whieler’s for the night. I went to the dance with Pearl… Sandy’s brother, Steve Block called me to go out with his roommate, but I couldn’t leave Pearl. We left about 8:30 and got to the dance about 10:00. I got the address mixed up. There were so many people there. Some guy’s asked us to have coffee with them. Rose said Howard was there, so I wanted to leave, but Al came out with him. The whole gang was with him, Byron, Nile’s. and everyone… Howard almost got in a fight because this drunk guy was bothering me. He and Al took us to Canter’s for coffee. It was fun. But we fought the whole time and he almost broke my arm. He had a terrible cold and felt sick. So did I. Was with him until 12:30.

The band, originally a surf-rock group called the Crossfires, was formed in 1965 (really it was in 1964, ) in Westchester, California, by Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. With the help of DJ and club owner Reb Foster, the Crossfires signed to the newly formedWhite Whale Records and soon became the Turtles.

the Turtles achieved breakthrough success with a Bob Dylan cover. “It Ain’t Me Babe” reached theBillboard Top Ten in the late summer of 1965, and was the title track to the band’s first album,

The TURTLES ~ “IT AIN’T ME BABE”

Mark Volman, the fat turtle, was good friends with Howard and Byron and I often went to dances in Westchester where they played. Wikipedia say’s they were formed in 1965, but they were known as the Crossfires in 1964, just in case you wanted to know the real history of the Turtles.

When a Surfer met a girl in Westchester for the fist time, they’ed give them their business card. I had a stack of them, some with phone numbers included. Which was a good resource for my famous prank call parties.

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Posted in 1960's Surf Culture, 1964 High School Diary, Chick Secrets, diary, Maybelline Girl, memoir, REALITY BLOG, Southern California 1964, teenage reality blog | Tagged 57 Chevy, Culver City, dating, It Ain't Me Babe, Mark Volman, Maybelline, Maybelline Story, Playa del Rey Los Angeles, Saffrons Rule, Sharrie Williams, Sick, Southern California, The Crossfires Band, The Turtles Band, Toes in Playa Del Rey, West Side Surfers, Westchester Ca, Westchester High School, Westchester Surf Rock Band | Leave a comment

It’s hard to believe in the goodness of life when I’m sick so much

Posted on April 2, 2014 by saffronsrule

August 28, 1964, Friday. Sick again

Woke up sick. Guess I’m in for it another two weeks. That means 4 weeks out of my Summer. Hate this Summer, it only brought me unhappiness. No fun, just sad nights. Why couldn’t something good have happened. No boyfriends, not even any dates. Everything was great from December through June, than life came to a stop and now I’m sick again. How unfair can it be. Why must I always suffer! Won’t these spells ever stop, so I can lead a happy, normal life. I’d be happier dead I think.

I think everyone has felt this way sometime in their life. When a person doesn’t feel good life seems like “what’s the point.” As a teenager, I had to fight this feeling all the time, because I got sick so often. The good news is I finally got well when I was 31, because I changed my diet and lifestyle and have been health and productive ever since.

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Posted in 1960's Surf Culture, 1964 High School Diary, Chick Secrets, diary, Maybelline Girl, memoir, REALITY BLOG, Southern California 1964, teenage reality blog | Tagged 1964, Culver City, Culver High School, dating, depression, exhausted, hopeless, loneliness, Maybelline, Maybelline Story, Playa del Rey Los Angeles, saddness, Saffrons Rule, Sharrie Williams, Sick, Surfer's Rule, West Side Surfers, Westchester High School | Leave a comment

Fabian, Shelley Fabares, Peter Brown, Barbara Eden, Tab Hunter, Susan Hart and James Mitchum in, RIDE THE WILD SURF

Posted on April 1, 2014 by saffronsrule

August 27,1964, Thursday. Saw Howard with a girl.

Stayed all night with Pearl. Couldn’t sleep. Just kept thinking how great it was walking into Denny’s with a boy and ignoring Howard. He kept looking as us but, I didn’t talk to him.. The girl he was with sure looked old! Like his sister. Pearl and I got up about 1:30 and got dressed about 4:00. We drove to Toes and got a Coke, than Howard drove by with that girl! He didn’t see me. Funny, but she wasn’t sitting next to him. Tonight Pearl, Sandy and I went to the show and saw, “Ride the Wild Surf.” So GREAT!! But, I felt myself getting sick. After the show, these weird boys followed us all over, even to Sandy’s. We couldn’t loose them and they were ugly.

Ride The Wild Surf – Jan and Dean

It’s ridiculous how phony the Surfing scenes look in this movie.

RIDE THE WILD SURF 1964 Movie


Starring	Fabian Shelley Fabares Peter Brown Barbara Eden Tab Hunter Susan Hart James Mitchum

Ride the Wild Surf is romantic drama in the beach party style. It was filmed in 1963 and distributed in 1964. Unlike most films in the genre, it is known for its exceptional big wave surf footage – a common sight in surf movies of the time, but a rarity in beach party films.^[2] Likewise, the film has only one pop song – the titular Jan and Dean track, which is heard once, at the end of the film.

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Posted in 1960's Surf Culture, 1964 High School Diary, Chick Secrets, diary, Little Sisters, Maybelline Girl, memoir, REALITY BLOG, Southern California 1964, teenage reality blog | Tagged 1964, 1964 film, 57 Chevy, Beach, Culver City, Culver High School, dating, film Ride the Wild Surf, Jan and Dean, Maybelline, Maybelline Story, Playa del Rey Los Angeles, Saffrons Rule, Sharrie Williams, Southern California, Surfer's Rule, Toes in Playa Del Rey, West Side Surfers, Westchester High School | Leave a comment

Dance, Dance, Dancing to the Beach Boys… at a Dance Contest in 1964

Posted on March 31, 2014 by saffronsrule

August 26, 1964, Wednesday. Played a trick on Howard. Dance at Westchester Jewish Center, Esquires played.

Tonight was the Dance. Went with Pearl Peskin, Marilyn Collier, Jacky Colgan, my sister Donna and her friend Teri Thompson. We got a lot of attention I guess because most of the girls there were ugly. Pearl and I were bored, so we wen to Hamburger Handout Jr. Two cute boys were working. We gave them a bunch of trouble. Pearl asked for a hot fudge donut and ice for a Coke. Then, we went back to the dance and Fred Ockrim and Mike Janoff were there. Donna and Teri were in a dance contest and Teri won. Then, Howard walked it with a girl and asked someone if I was there. I didn’t see him thank god, that’s what he wants. I was bugged all night about it. When we left we drove by Denny’s and he was there. I walked in with Scott and Pearl walked in with Bruce. He saw me and I saw him.

The Beach Boys – Dance, Dance, Dance (Shindig – 1964)

My mother could have been a professional dancer at MGM when she was 17, but missed her opportunity when she was in an accident the night before her audition and broke her thigh bone. But that natural talent and desire to dance was instilled into me and my two sisters and brother. We were all great dancers. Howard and I met at a dance at the Westcheste Jewish Center and thought I was the best dancer there.

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Posted in 1960's Surf Culture, 1964 High School Diary, Chick Secrets, diary, Little Sisters, Maybelline Girl, memoir, REALITY BLOG, Southern California 1964, teenage reality blog | Tagged 1964, 57 Chevy, Beach Boys Dance Dance Dance, Culver City, Culver City California, Culver High School, Dance Contest, dating, Denny's Coffee Shop, Maybelline, Maybelline Story, Playa del Rey Los Angeles, Saffrons Rule, Sharrie Williams, Surfer's Rule, teenagers, West Side Surfers, Westchester High School, Westchester Jewish Center | Leave a comment

Went to the TV Premiere of Marlo Thomas’ “That Girl” and loved it!!!

Posted on March 29, 2014 by saffronsrule

August 25, 1964. Tuesday. Went to a TV Premiere.

The rabbit got out so we called the SPCA. They said they found one so we went to get it, but it wasn’t ours. It was next door the whole time. Pearl got sick so we didn’t go to the beach. Nana came over and let us use her car. My sister Donna, her friend Teri Thompson and I went to Toes. It was ugly and cold. Tonight Pearl, Donna and her friend Linda Kline and I went to a TV Premiere. It was really good! We got to rate the show. It’s called “That Girl.” After, we drove around Hollywood and went to Pandora’s Box. We saw the Marauders playing there. I was so sad because it wasn’t Byron’s band the Marauders. We went to the Purple Onion, but couldn’t get so finally went to Woodies and got Hot Fudge Sundaes. Also, Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins was released today.

Marlo Thomas “That Girl” became my all time favorite TV Show as a Teenager. I wanted to be just like her in every way and I never missed a show. I loved her clothes, shoes, make up and hair.

Pandora’s Box The Club was a very cool club that let teenager’s in. It was actually more of a Coffee House and a Hollywood hot spot in 1964.

Woody’s SmorgasBurger was the best burger joint ever and you could make up your own burgers and your own Sundae’s with the works. My family had been going there since I was a little kid in Grammar School.

I still hadn’t given up hope of snagging Byron Ferguson, the drummer in the Marauders… from Westchester High School. But this wasn’t his band.

(Original 1964) Mary Poppins Theatrical Trailer

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Posted in 1960's Surf Culture, 1964 High School Diary, Chick Secrets, diary, Little Sisters, Maybelline Girl, memoir, REALITY BLOG, Southern California 1964, teenage reality blog | Tagged 57 Chevy, Culver City, Culver City California, Culver High School, dating, Hollywood Green Onion, Hollywood Pandora's Box, Marlo Thomas That Girl TV Show, Mary Poppin's, Maybelline, Maybelline Story, Playa del Rey Los Angeles, Premiere, Saffrons Rule, Sharrie Williams, Surfer's Rule, The Marauders Band, Walt Disney 1964, West Side Surfers, Westchester High School, Woody's Smorgsburger | Leave a comment

My dad is so mad about ruining my car he’s making me get a job to pay for it

Posted on March 28, 2014 by saffronsrule

August 24, 1964, Monday. Party at Toes was called off

Went to the beach at 10:30 until 12:30. My sister Donna and her friend Terri Thompson had to be rescued by a life guard, because they were being thrown against the rocks at the jetty. When they came out, I couldn’t help laughing. Howard was cold to me and had a hangover. Went to Pearl’s pool until 3:00. Came home and Daddy was mad about my car. He said it was ruined for good and it was my fault! They bugged me about getting a job to pay for my own car. They brought it to the stations to be fixed and it’s going to cost about $25 – $30 dollars. I’ve got to get a job, I’m so scared to think of next year and I don’t even have a boyfriend!! Plus I’m fat!! The party was called off at Toes, which ruined my night. Pearl came over and we went cruising. The’re working on our new pool being built.

I think I laughed because it was embarrassing to have a cute lifeguard rescue you at Toes, in front of all the Surfers. I feel bad I laughed at them.

I felt like such a looser, ruining my car and I knew my parents were disappointed when I blew my audition and was disqualified at the Miss Culver City Contest. Now the only thing left for me was to get a dumb job.