"Joy."..and The Hungry i ..Haiku Heights....a n d......

    My second time linking with Haiku Heights

Remember with me

'Twas written by Three Dog Night

 with frog prodigy  

Mighty fine music

Jeremiah would agree

brought "joy to the world"

by klr




a n d.....one  joyous  memory from the "hungri i" restaurant...
 ...

My memory of the "hungri I" ~

San Francisco - 1961...
we lunched at Fisherman's Wharf, 
rode the cable cars, saw the Presidio, 

drove down Lombard St., walked Chinatown and drove through Haight Ashbury.  And yes, we 
crossed over the Golden Gate bridge, saw Alcatraz, climbed the Coit Tower and even saw a San Francisco Giants baseball game at Candlestick park.  I was 14 and my brother, Alan, 11.  Our parents took us out of our mundane routine to know some of the world outside our own small town.   I remember that 

I wore a scarf  and it blew across my face along with big raindrops as we ducked for cover into the renowned "hungri i"  restaurant one evening.  We were in for a treat!  It was elegant, I thought, 

and I felt quite grown up when I was allowed to have a glass of red wine with dinner, brought to our round oak table by a handsome waiter.  And I was allowed a sip of my father's martini.  We practiced our table manners without cue, or we would get "that look" from our parents.  We had tickets to see the live show after our meal!

                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                            The Gateway Singers

The Kingston Trio, who hailed from the bay area, launched their career at this nightspot. Headlining the show that night was a new comedian, Bob Newhart.  The show opened that night with the powerful Gateway Singers. Billed with Bob Newhart were The Limeliters with tenor, Glenn Yarbrough 

Little did we know that all would become world famous within a short time.  Never having been at a live event, I was struck with how splendidly loud, full-bodied and soulful the music sounded.  The songs were in the folk music genre of the time, like The Christy Minstrels group and The Smothers Brothers...around the time of The Captain and Tenille and The Brothers Four who sprouted from Washington State. Barbra Streisand was a favorite, as was Mort Saul, comedian.  You may include Peter, Paul and Mary and Carol Burnett.  But it was Glenn Yarbrough's splendid tenor voice singing "Baby the Rain Must Fall" that took me over the moon!! They made a lasting impression on me with their raggedy songs.  Below is a 1963 medley including the Brazilian whistling song.  My father especially loved the Irish tune, "Have Some Madeira, M' Dear?" which he would lip-sinc at home in the kitchen, teasing my mother when in a fun mood.  The audience was full of adults and it was smokey and dimly lit.  People drank and laughed.  We wondered if our parents really thought we would enjoy the show or was it that they wanted to see Bob Newhart but didn't want to leave us alone in the hotel?                                                                                                                    

But there were no off color words uttered that I remember, and by the end of Newhart's monologue my side ached from so much laughter.  After returning home I bragged to my friends at school about seeing them in person,  having felt like I had taken a giant step toward adulthood.  Today the restaurant does not exist;  Another club (casino or strip) there now bears the same name. The bare brick walls where Lenny Bruce and others grew to popularity no longer fill the space; you can read more about the "hungri i" and it's long-time owner HERE .  It was totally one of most joyful and special experiences  to be there during it's heyday.

Haiku Heights

A 1957 Pink Buick Station Wagon and A Kid's View...Seattle's Worlds Fair 50th Anniversary 1962-2012

Soon this summer we here will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the 1962 World's Fair held in Seattle.  Never did we imagine it possible we would ever go to one.  But Seattle was chosen that year and we lived in a small town just hours southeast of it.....and we were going!!!  How Exciting!!  How futuristic!!

Gee, we were going to see the touted Space Needle!  Our parents packed all four of us into the 
back of the 1957 Buick station wagon.  We had one minor hindrance and that was that our sister, Paula, was in a cast with crutches from a broken leg (fell off a horse).  She was 11 and I was the oldest at 15.  My other sister, Shelley, was 9 and my, brother, Alan, 13.  The speed limit was 50 mph so it was a long restless road trip for all.  With pit stops we made it in 6 hours.  Elvis was going to be there!!!

Two short slide shows will give you highlights of the fair.  You will see the old and the new, 
the Bubbleator, the restaurant on the top of the space needle that rotates slowly while one eats (in the slide show it look as if it's very speedy, but it is not).  You will see some of the sights and hopefully get a feel for the era and huge event, as people came from all over the world.

                                               

We were enthralled with everything and loved the trip to the big City, and we had lots of memories
 to keep.  It deserves a big write up and it began with a pictorial last weekend in The Seattle Times Sunday newspaper, with more about upcoming events all year. I still love to go there.  I lived most of my adult life in Seattle and the Seattle Center, as it is now called, provides acres of entertainment all year long.  Labor Day weekend is the Bumbershoot Festival, in the summer is the food extravaganza, The Bite of Seattle, with every type of food found in the area, representing many fine restaurants.  There is opera, theater, the Pacific Science Center, rides, art and animal shows, concerts, a
mime or two, dancing, cultural fairs and seminars. 
If you go don't forget your umbrella!!