Took a c 5 mile walk/run?/stumble to Carpinteria Beach this AM. Swam about 500 yards, then met Army Buddy Arnold Ouslander downtown for Avocado Festival. We walked the course and Arnold agreed, theres not all that much to see, unless youre into flea markets. What I did learn: Arnold remembers playing the drums at a school celebration on VJ day in 1945. He was 5 years old.Arnold got drunk twice in his life: 1957 (a trip through Canada with Harvey Pine) and 1973. 1973 landed him in jail for a night and cost $500. He said the other time he spent time in jail was when he accidentally hit a divider on the freeway in 1960. When he appeared in court the judge* said because he hit a driver, he would have to spend a day in jail. Arnold protested, saying he hit a divider, not a driver. The judge said no, you hit a driver. Arnolds first trip to Europe coincided with my first and last trip in 1966. When I asked him about our mutual friend, Harvey Pine, he said he died in May of this year, age 76. Arnold said he called him in Sandpoint Idaho, about once a month the last few months of his life. Arnold said Harvey was very calm and peaceful. Harvey told Arnold not to worry; that hed had a rewarding, full life. Ive been told, but I forget how my Army buddy Arnold and my Health Department buddy Harvey met each other. I hadnt seen Harvey since the 1975 Health Department chess tournament he sponsored, but for the past few years I enjoyed reading his annual Christmas letter. RIP Harvey Pine. I invited Rod Petkovic, an outsider, to the HD tournament, and he won the damn thing. *Judge: A law student who marks his own papers. (H.L. Mencken)
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 03:47:33 +0000