The Main Ditch

                                                        By kiki

In the summers of the mid-late ‘1940’s my buddies and I would ride our bikes from our homes in the Simons Brickyard to the corner of Bluff Rd and Sycamore St. in South Montebello. We would then walk the bikes about 100 yards east on the railroad tracks to a water hole where we would go swimming. The water hole was known as “The Main Ditch” don’t ask me why because I don’t know. This was in the days of passenger trains, so whenever a train was approaching we had to jump in the water because we would be skinny dipping though some of the guys would stay out of the water and turn their butts toward the trains….Ah! To be able to go back to our days of youth and innocence..

Driving While Brown

By kiki

Back in the '50's we Chicano teenagers would get stopped by the Man for no reason other than we were Chicano's. I remember one Sunday in '54 when Connie and I (before we got married) were listening to Hunter Hancock spin some R & B's on the radio as we cruised Pico Viejo. As we were rolling down the barrio streets, I had a black and white on my tail. I made a right turn, he made a right turn, I made a left turn, he made a left turn, all this while he was riding my rear bumper. I finally got tired of the cat and mouse game, so I pulled over to the dirt edge of the street; Pico Viejo didn't have curbs at the time, not sure if it has them nowadays, he stopped right behind me, got out of his car and walked over to mine and asked me "why did you pull over?"

"You were going to pull me over, so I figure that the sooner we get this game over with, the sooner my girlfriend and I can enjoy our cruising," I said to the Man.

He turned around without saying another word and got back on his ride, and left us sitting there flabbergasted.

"The Rabbits"

By kiki

Everybody in the Simons Brickyard back in the middle of the last century had some kind of animals, cows, goats, pigs, chickens, rabbits. Most of the animals were fed to be eaten later. We had a goat, chickens, and rabbits. One of my daily chores was to get up early in the mornings and feed the critters. One Saturday during the summer of 1950, my friend Beto's brother, Kelly, got married, and that night they had a big wedding party. The following morning, I got up at my usual early hour to feed the critters, I fed the chickens and the goat first, but when I got to the rabbit's cages, I found them empty. So I went inside the house and woke Pops up.

"Pops, we don't have rabbits anymore."

What happened, Mijo?"

"Don't know, Pops, but the cages are empty."

"I'll find out," said Pops

He woke my older sister Rachel up.

"Rachel, did you go to Kelly's wedding party?"

"Yes," said Rachel

"Did they feed you?" asked Pops

"Yes," 

"What did you eat." 

"Don't know for sure, but it tasted like RABBIT," said Rachel.

Getting My Driver's License For The First Time

By kiki

In December of 1952, I turned 16. A few days after my birthday, I needed to go to the DMV office on Whittier Blvd in Montebello, Ca. to get my driver's license.

I asked my uncle, Ray Gonzales, if he could take me to the DMV. Since I only had a driver's permit, I needed a licensed driver to drive me there, and I also needed his car to take my driving test. Uncle Ray said that he couldn’t take me because he had to work, but I could use his car, a 1948 Chevy Coupe. I decided that I would drive myself in Uncle Ray’s car to the DMV.

I arrived at the DMV early the next morning, parked the car in the driver's testing line, walked into the office, and told a lady that I was there for my driving test; after doing some paperwork, I was told to wait outside for a driving examiner. A short while later, an examiner called me to take my test; he asked me which car I was using to take my test; I pointed to the Chevy Coupe, he then asked me who drove me to the DMV office, a man was standing about 50 feet from us, and I pointed to him and told the examiner that my uncle Ray did, the examiner waved to “Uncle Ray” “Uncle Ray” waved back with a look that said “what?”

“Let’s do it” yelled the examiner. We got in the car, and he asked me if the brakes worked; I, of course, said: “Yes, sir.” He told me to step on the brake pedal; I did, and the pedal almost went to the floor.

“Not much pedal there, son,” said the examiner.

The brakes work fine if I pump the pedal a bit, I told him; I then showed him by pumping the brake pedal.

“Okay, pull into traffic,” he told me as he closed the car door.

I pulled into traffic on Whittier Blvd, and about a quarter-mile away was a stop sign. As I started pumping the brake pedal to make the stop, the examiner jumped out of the car and told me to fix the brakes or get another car. As he walked back to the DMV office, I drove to my Uncle Frank Arriola's place in Simons. I asked him if he could take me to the DMV, again like Uncle Ray; he said he couldn’t but that I could use his late-model Desoto. I drove back to the DMV in Uncle Frank's Desoto in the early afternoon and took the test with the same examiner. I passed the test but was told that I needed to practice on my parallel parking. 67 years later, I still haven't master parallel parking.

Three Teachers

By kiki

In my last year at Montebello Junior High school (1951-52), there were three teachers, two males, one female. I can only remember the name of one, Mr. Martin. I’ll call the male teacher “Mr. Dude” and the female teacher “Miss Dudette.”

Miss Dudette was a great dresser and drop-dead gorgeous lady. Mr.Dude was a blond, blue-eyed handsome guy, and always dressed to the nines with every hair in place and drove a new car. Mr.Dude could have been a model for a Sears catalog.

Mr. Martin was a dark-skinned out-of-shape Mexican-American who would drive his old beat-up jalopy to school in the mornings wearing a cheap ill-fitted rumple suit and scuffed shoes. He always looked like he had slept in his suit, and his hair was always uncombed; he always looked in need of a haircut.

Both Mr. Martin and Mr. Dude were after Miss Dudette; they were both dating her. The Chicano guys were always kidding Mr. Martin about competing with Mr. Dude in winning Miss Dudette. The competition for the heart and soul of Miss Dudette went on for the better part of the school year. In the end, Mr. Martin won out. Mr. Martin and Miss Dudette were married at the end of the school year.