San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center

Merry Men
By Old Wakaba, Bud Sagara
At the end of last year, a friend of mine from childhood, Howard Yamamoto, called to invite
my wife and me to mochitsuki at his house. He mentioned that among his guests he invited
were Chris Ito, Tim Ito, Don Iwanaga, and Harry Nakashima, guys that I grew up with in Sun
Valley. It would have been nice to reconnect with old friends, but we had already committed that date to watching one of
our granddaughters in the Kid Venture Christmas program at the Holiness Church. Howard’s invitation however, did
cause me to recall the people and places in my past.
English novelist George Elliot said, “Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having
neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words.” Does that describe how you are with your friends? For me, when I
reconnect with friends, the years seem to melt away and the conversations have an ease about them. These guys know
the real me, unvarnished and without the trappings or the political correctness that society dictates. Old friends can be
counted upon to give me a swift kick in the pants should I become self-indulgent. They know all my embarrassing stories
and the predicaments that make us all human.
In junior and senior high school we formed a circle of friends from neighborhood guys. We called ourselves the Merry
Men, as in the Tale of Robin Hood. The Merry Men would hang out at Howard’s house in an old building in his backyard
called “the pool room.” The pool room housed an ancient pool table that found constant use among the Merry Men. The
room was musty and stark inside, with a cement floor and no ventilation except for the exterior door. One could always go
to the pool room to find conversation or a game of Eight Ball or poker in progress. There used to be a pin-up calendar
hanging on the wall until Howard’s grandma came in and tore it all to shreds. The Merry Men would take challenges from
other groups or car clubs to games of tackle football or other sports, and then retreat to the pool room to nurse wounds
and do a group play by play analysis of the just concluded game. Lots of male bonding took place in the pool room. Although
there were hours of idle conversation and laughs, there were also times when very personal goals or aspirations
would be launched or fresh failures consoled.
A day in the life of the Merry Men contained sights and places that have for the most part vanished from the Valley.
The places to have a bite to eat after the Friday night football game were Mike’s Pizza on Van Nuys Boulevard or further
south at Bob’s Big Boy. There was always a double bill showing at the Lankershim or El Portal theaters or at the Laurel
Drive In. One could purchase fresh milk at the Roger Jessup Dairy across from the CC or go shopping for groceries at
Sun Val Market or at the Piggly Wiggly. Great places for lunch were the Sirloin Burger, Long Green Cafe, or Hody’s.
Serious shoppers could go to Fedco, White Front or to the new Valley Plaza mall. Men got their haircuts and the latest CC
news at the Pacoima Barbershop on San Fernando Road. One could get their car painted for $29.95 at Earl Schieb which
included plenty of overspray on the chrome and windows. Do any of you remember the Old Trapper’s Lodge?
Where did the time go? A friend of mine related a story about her late 95 year old grandmother, who while on her
deathbed reflected on life. She simply said, “It went by so fast.” When I was a kid, the weeks and months seemed to take
forever, especially when looking forward to summer vacation. As an adult, time feels like it is stuck in the fast forward
mode. Scientists theorize that because the brain records everything that is new in great detail, the experiences of youth
contain countless things to be categorized and stored for future reference. As adults, we settle into many routines, like
common tasks at work or in the home, so that there are less new events to record.
Although the brain reasons that time neither speeds up nor slows down, the heart senses that the clock is running
faster as we near the end of days. My big brother Harvey passed away suddenly a few days before Christmas. Someone
who was a constant in my life is now gone forever. Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska wrote this reflection about the loss of
a loved one, “Nothing seems different here, but nothing is the same. Nothing has been moved, but there’s more space.”
You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. So is that all there is to life? It seems rather bleak, but do
not lose heart. Look not to things of this world, but rather to things unseen such as love, faith, and hope. For things that
are seen are transient, while things that are unseen are eternal.
Monday, July 30 - Thursday, August 2, 2012
SFV Japanese American Community Center
12
Former South High,
USC Star & Current Pro Player
Applications
will be out soon.
For more information,
call Lois 818 899-1989.
Or email at
loisokui@aol.com