Nob Hill (Blogophilia 27.13)

 "Breathe Deep, the gathering gloom..."


5:00 AM. I never had to look. 94-Q always played it the same time Sunday morning. Like Pavlov's dog, the gong seemed to give me energy. The poem matched my mood this morning. The paper drop had been late and I was at least a half-hour behind getting things done. It was humid and I was already sweating.


I chug my old car into the open space and shut off the motor. Sunday sunrise wasn't for another hour, but noise didn't matter at Nob Hill. It was the pinnacle of the Swinging Singles lifestyle. 425 units done in a faux Mediterranean style, spread over 16 wooded acres. The parties had made it the place for up and coming image-makers. They were the Young Americans. The parking lot showed what was important, Morgans, Jags, and Mercedes. The only thing it didn't have on its main rival, Riverbend, was a river. 


For a sixteen-year-old kid, it was paradise. 


Buildings 10 and 11, by the small pool, had 18 customers and the craziest residents. You never were sure what you were going to see on any given morning. Another car pulls next to me. The driver gets out and trips on the curb. Drunk is normal here. 


I count the papers for the building and tucked them in the bag. I knew what would happen. The front page would go to the trash. Men wanted sports and the women liked fashion and gossip. It didn't matter what was going on in DC. They were a bunch of irrelevant old men hearing themselves talk.


What was on the front page today anyway? Gerald Ford tripped again. Nothing new...Another article on saving Skylab. Why would they do that? Doesn't matter. When you're the government, the money is unlimited... Another article on String Theory and its impact on the future. Dr. DiGuisto mentioned it in Beginning Physics, but it was like arguing about angels on the head of a pin to me. I was happier spinning records and quoting Al Jaffee. 


The best feature was the outdoor beer taps at the pool gates. It was 50/50 they'd be working. Depending on who was at the pool, I'd slip in for a quick one wIn no one was looking. A yellow Motoguzzi sat next to the access stairs. Somebody never left the Mod era. But that was cool. I liked the little things. You felt like an English Hipster when you rode. 


Splashing and shouting. The late crew was at the pool again. Skinny dipping was a regular occurrence. Maybe now? I dodge a lady with her top dangling from her neck. The smile told me all I needed to know. "Suffragette City was playing on a portable radio. The song came to the climax and 15 people screamed the signature line.


"Wham! Bam! Thank you, Ma'am!" 


These fools didn't do Disco. Maybe I'd get invited. 


Somebody yelled: "I got some fucking acid! Anybody want some?"


Don't lean on me man, I think. Everything had to be delivered by 7 and it was already 5:15. It would have to be no.


I stop at the entrance to building 10 and look over the iron fence. Everyone drunk...and naked. Two couples were making out on the sides with the others cheering them on. They won't notice me. I walk up to the taps and grab a cup…


Pssssh.


Damn it. Empty The bastards drunk it all up.


I leave and finish my route. Maybe the other pool's taps were working.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Topic-Dave Coon


Pic-Dahlia Ramone


Pic guesses: Motoguzzi (in blog), Hipster (in blog), Mod (in Blog), scooter, crosswalk, yellow (in blog), Euro, Space Oddity


Comments

  1. I was always jealous of my friends who had paper routes, then again everyone I knew who had one before they could drive.

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    Replies
    1. I had my first one when I was 12. I took this one over after I got my license. There were a couple of other complexes on it, but this place...

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  2. Well that was a very clear glimpse into the swinging 70’s. A lot of my Mom’s friends lived in those types of complexes during that era. They were all in their late 20’s and working in the about to to boom Silicon Valley. And you are correct many Mercedes and tons of drunken pool parties.

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    Replies
    1. It was quite a time. One of my sister lived in this complex. She also had some stories.

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  3. Wow! Reminded me of The Great Gatsby. Kind of exciting.

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  4. Great glimpse into those days of many years ago. Greatly enjoyed reading this.

    Irene

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  5. Sounds like an interesting place to visit. 8 points Earthling

    Martien

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  6. A pretty wild route. --Dave Raider

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  7. Wow, what a crazy place. I bet even the flies on the walls were trippin'

    Humid by 5 am? That's rough. It's rarely humid here, but your comment made me recall when I went to NYC years ago, in August and they were having a heat wave. I got up early one morning to go to the free concert in the park. But after waiting around for a while, it was so friggin' humid that I said 'eff this,' didn't wait for the artist to show up and went back to my hotel to go back to bed. It was around 8 am.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, yeah. Humid is a way of life down here. It might top out in the low 90s, but with the humidity, it will feel like a 100. And this isn't even the worst part of the South. The closer to the ocean or Gulf, the worse it gets.

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