Santa Monica Pier

August, 1986

Today  Mike  and  I  decided  to  visit Santa  Monica pier. We hadn’t been there for twenty or more years. We were pleasantly surprised. What an amalgam of people the pier represents. We parked at the Santa Monica Place Shopping Center.  We walked  the short distance  to the Pier. There  to our  right  was  the  familiar  Merry-Go-­ Round. It had such a new shiny finish –then we remembered that it had been closed for a time to be refinished. Oh, to be a child again  and ride up and down on  the colorful horses as they went round and round, with the sprightly music playing. There were booths to win stuffed animals with the throw of a ball or a dart.

Along  the  way  vendors  sold  soft,  large pretzels  –  bringing me memories of South St. Louis. Also ice cream, tacos, etc.  There was a tent with a stage where young people break danced before an audience .  Some fishermen were at the end of the  pier actually fishing.   One man had his line  wrapped around a beer can.   Another had  a little bell  attached to his line so he could  visit and not pay any attention until he heard the tinkle of the bell. There were rides for the kiddies, but Mario will have to grow a bit before we take him there. I remember when Pop Martini used to take our children to  the  Kiddie  Park where  Beverly  Center  now stands.

We  decided  to  walk  down  the  beach  walkway.    We passed an  area  with  two  man  volleyball courts, and an area where people were practicing circus leaps and acrobatic     feats.  Further down the pathway, tables for chess were available.  Mike stood and watched one game. We  walked back to  the Mall and looked  at  some stores, then into our car, a visit to Grace and early bird  dinner  at  Zuckey’s  Restaurant. That,  too,  has been around for a long time.