Excerpt-1:  1950-1962, Early years in Pasadena, California.

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I loved growing up in Pasadena. In the late ‘50s, Mom would let us three kids spend New Year’s Eve camped out in our sleeping bags on Colorado Boulevard, saving places for our family to watch The Rose Parade the next morning. Our house was roughly three blocks north of the parade route, so Mom could check on us if she needed to.

All along the parade route, campers were having an all-night party. Hot rods and custom cars cruised up and down the boulevard. People huddled in their own little areas, clutching hot chocolate or coffee, trying to fend off the winter night chill. Giant bonfire parties raged on the front lawn of Pasadena City College, where throngs of students gathered to celebrate.

Pasadena was a busy hub for its youth back then, with soda shops, record stores, the Boys and Girls clubs, Friday night school dances and the Saturday night dance at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
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Bob’s Big Boy Restaurants played a big part in Pasadena’s culture. Big Bobs and Little Bobs were both on Colorado Blvd. about 3 miles apart. Big Bobs had carhop service, while Little Bobs was only an indoor restaurant. On the weekends, people would wait in a line several blocks long to get into Big Bobs—Greasers and surfers, all the teenagers in their hot rods, trying to get into the carhop service to order burgers, fries and Cokes served right in their cars. The scene was right out of the movie American Graffiti! It even inspired a song by Jan & Dean, “The Little Old Lady From Pasadena.”