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Hi Gary-
We have never met, but I'd bet a lot of money on the fact that we have been in the same place at the same time at least once while growing up. I was born in 1953 and graduated from West Covina High in 1971. My Mom and Dad bought a house on the GI bill on Barbara Avenue, near Service Ave. and Glendora Ave. for $8,000 and stayed up all night wondering how they were going to make the payments. We later lived on Gardenglen, near Glendora and Garvey (10 Fwy) until the third grade. From there, we lived near Hollenbeck and Merced until I graduated from high school.
The reason I am reaching out to thank you is that I have been battling Stage 4 cancer for the last year. I cannot begin to convey to you how much comfort your postings and this website have given me while I have otherwise felt so horrible. The good news is that it looks like I am going to squeak by. The bad news is this is the lousiest I have ever felt while being forced to count myself among the lucky.
I remember it all. The Helms man, being gone on our bikes all day, the smudge pots for the orange groves behind our house on Gardenglen. The backyard incinerator we weren't allowed to use, the old wooden bridges that crossed Walnut Creek on Lark Ellen and Azusa, Lark Ellen Hospital, the first McDonalds I ever saw on Glendora near Francisquito, John's Hobby Shop during the slot car craze, hearing the drag races from Irwindale at night during the summer because all of the windows were open due to not having air conditioning, Azusa Avenue ending at Francisquito- I remember all of it. I bought my first car from Leo Hoffman Chevrolet. It is impossible to describe to a stranger the feeling during the middle of winter when it is 80 degrees due to a Santa Ana condition and the mountains are still covered with snow from a storm the previous day.
Thanks to you, I have been able to virtually re-live those special times. We were so lucky and blessed. On a couple of occasions, you have done no less than transport me back in time. It didn't take me long to realize that what you did isn't to try and describe to someone who wasn't there what it was like. It is for the people who were there. I guess it's kind of like that old saying of what I've heard being an Elvis fan is like. To those who are, no explanation is necessary. To those who aren't, no explanation is possible.
I would have immensely enjoyed this during the best of times, but you gave me hope, meaning and strengthened my faith on days it was really hard to come by anywhere else. Thank you, my friend. May God bless you and your family every single day.
Thanks, again.
Chip C.
PS- As a past president of the service club, The Nomads, I am declaring you an honorary member. However, you're on your own as far as getting a jacket that fits goes.