By kiki
In 1959-60, Connie and I rented a duplex on Ferris Ave and 6th St. in East Los Angeles. The Ferris duplex was next door to the Los Angeles County Health Clinic. And one door north of us was a two-story apartment complex where an elderly couple lived. The old couple could be seen day in and day out, drinking beer all day and night on their second-story porch.
One early 1960 Saturday spring morning, as the sun was rising, Connie and I were awoken by a loud commotion from the apartments. As I jumped out of bed, I told Connie, "I'll be back in a bit." She wanted to know where I was going "next door to investigate." So I yelled as I ran out the door. As I ran out the door, I saw the cops putting the old lady in the back of a black and white cop car. And some other cops walked the old man, with blood running down from his throat, to the county clinic. The story I got from a talkative cop was that while the old folks were drinking on their porch, the old man passed out, and his lady didn't take kindly to that, so she pulled out her old switchblade from her Pachuca days and proceeded to slice her partner's throat. When asked why she would cut her man's throat, she replied, "he drinks too much."
Things in the hood were back to normal for a while, with the lady in jail and the man at the clinic. Then, about four o'clock pm that same Saturday, the old couple were spotted up on their perch drinking beer out of quart bottles. It must have been true love between the senior drinking partners.
