I got it from my parents, I'm sure...

So today is my day to post something as part of Savage Renewal: Archaeology.

I looked over my sparse collection, and debated what, if anything, I could discuss. So much of what I have has either been discussed at length, or, well, just doesn't merit a whole lot of words. And when one is a writer, well, you need that hook, that little something that opens the vein and lets you bleed on the page.

So I started to think of what got me into tiki in the first place -- but this isn't just a "how you got into tiki" type post.

When I was young, my parents had a fairly average Southern California tract home, one of zillions that sprung up in the post-war years. Three bedrooms, one bath, flat roof -- you get the idea. there were two differences to this otherwise plain-jane home that, I think, play into things.

First off is the den. This was a converted garage, with entry via the living room and kitchen. It served as the real family room. It was always a dark room, in spite of the large window that mostly replaced the garage door. Indeed, it was decorated with dark wood paneling, seamless, and with almost a chinese red undertone. Adorning the walls was a pair of chinese masks -- not tiki, but close -- and a large plaster "gong" wall decoration.

Across the room, decorated with flagcrete bricks, was a fireplace, and above this, a low shelf with red lighting behind. On the shelf was my dad's collection of mugs and steins. I still hope to get ahold of the moai mugs that were up there: mom says they were from a place in Vegas, but they looked to me like they came from The Tikis.

The home bar was in a corner, to the side of the fireplace, and housed the second refrigerator (complete with beer pull tap) behind it. My dad was more the martini drinker than purveyor of tiki-styled drinks, but I know he had some spare rum back there, as well as a bottle or two of blue curacao and other more exotic libations. I won't bother to share some of the "experiments" that me and some of my high school friends had with the various bottles back there.

This is only part of the story.

The backyard was mammoth, particularly in comparison to what often passes for a backyard today. It was big enough to house a backyard, an outbuilding, a modest built-in pool, and a patio. This is where things really take a turn for the tiki.

Decorating the fence nearest the pool were a selection of glass floats and other such good -- collected off the beach, for all I know -- and some ceramic, decorative fish. These were further overlaid with fishing nets. Oh yes, and a row of jade plants serving as hedges just in front of all this. A bamboo shade blocked off all the unsightly plumbing of the pool's filtration system.

The patio itself was covered by a redwood cover, and lined with former Christmas lights, and a pair of larger, coloured, outdoor flood lights highlighted the rest of the yard. To one side of the patio was a sizable stand of banana trees, which glowed and eerie blue green at night (thanks to the mood lighting). Near the backdoor was also a small fern garden, which, above, was a pair of frosted glass and cork hanging lamps, in red and green (port and starboard), naturally.

Of course, additional light was always possible by lighting up the tiki torches, sprinkled liberally throughout the edges of the yard. They were old, plain metal items, on thick metal poles. They did the job as well as one could hope, and seem, in retrospect, to be far sturdier than the bamboo-bodied ones in our own backyard.

The patio itself, home to a pair of redwood benches -- didn't everyone have these? -- was decorated with a coral and sea green checkerboard pattern on the floor and, on the back wall of the house, a pair of styrofoam "tiki" faces stood guard alongside a cut bamboo planted. The former were painted a grayish black, giving the illusion of stone (I didn't know they were merely styrofoam for many years), the latter containing plastic tropical plants.

You'll see those in the background on the above shot, probably taken at a party of some nature. The outfits are a clue to the nature of the event, I suspect.

Oh, and I almost forgot, beyond the pool, and on the edge of the backyard was a goldfish pond. The pond itself I don't recall ever seeing in use, it eventually becoming a home to a number of rose bushes. In the middle of it all was a sizable bird of paradise plant, so big that it seemed to serve as a crown to the whole affair.

Also, both the backyard (thanks to some cheap outdoor speakers) and the den were serviced by the same hi-fi system, piping music around the house. Of course, it is from my parents' record collection that I got some of my first Arthur Lyman and Martin Denny records.

When I was young, this wasn't a "backyard tiki paradise," this was just home. Yet I cannot help but note how it affected my interests.

I wonder how many others 'round here are second- or third-generation tikiphiles?

Cheers,
Gwen Smith
:sheckymug:

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[ Edited by: gwenners 2005-09-08 12:59 ]

That's a great photo, and a wonderful description of your family home -- it sounds exactly like the sort of place I'd like to live someday. As a matter of fact, a few years ago I was thisclose to buying a house that sounds very, very similar to the one you describe. The scene you lay out, and that picture of your parents in their party aloha wear... it's just very romantic to me. Thanks so much for sharing!

On 2005-09-04 20:30, Humuhumu wrote:
That's a great photo, and a wonderful description of your family home -- it sounds exactly like the sort of place I'd like to live someday. As a matter of fact, a few years ago I was thisclose to buying a house that sounds very, very similar to the one you describe. The scene you lay out, and that picture of your parents in their party aloha wear... it's just very romantic to me. Thanks so much for sharing!

Likewise, I hope to have a place as cool (in retrospect) as that. Oh, and that's my Godparents: my dad probably took the photo. :)

Cheers,
Gwen Smith

Thanks for that enjoyable and evocative description. As a kid in New Jersey I had a vague sense that things were groovier in Southern CA (no doubt because all my favorite TV shows seemed to take place there), and now you've gone and proven it to me.

The closest we got to Exotica at our place was Herb Alpert and Louis Armstrong (not close at all -- but awesome in their own right of course). If only there was a "Sing Along with Mich Miller" Hawaiian album...

That's a lovely photo of you with your Godparents. The past is the most exotic country of all, isn't it.

Much thanks again.

[ Edited by: Thomas 2005-09-04 21:16 ]

okay... I am now so excited about this Savage Renewal topic, I can't hardly wait for the 'T' group to get their chance! I love personal history like this!

gwenners,
thanks for renewing your memories, and for that great picture! you definitely had hipper than you could have imagined parents ~ who not only passed you their genes, but also their good taste!
thanks for sharing!!

On 2005-09-04 21:15, Thomas wrote:
The closest we got to Exotica at our place was Herb Alpert and Louis Armstrong (not close at all -- but awesome in their own right of course). If only there was a "Sing Along with Mich Miller" Hawaiian album...

That's a lovely photo of you with your Godparents. The past is the most exotic country of all, isn't it.

Oh, I've also inherited all the Herb Alpert (a good collection of all the early Tiajuana Brass albums except Whipped Cream -- how odd!), and their Baja Marimba, Brazil 66, and so on. It's not bad stuff, but things like Exotica III and The Legend of Pele have long since been out of the shipping boxes, while The Lonely Bull remains packed away.

'n' yes, there is never anything quite like the past.

Cheers,
Gwen Smith

Thanks for sharing your memories, the yard sounds cool! And your God parents were too hip! Dig her glasses and his sandals with sox's!!! Like wow baby, out of this world!

NIce Gwenners!
I wish I had a photo like that with "proof" in the background..... Have you seen "Avocado Memories"? A great website about Wes Clarks memories of growing up in Glendale during the 60s & 70s....

http://wesclark.com/am/

http://wesclark.com/am/am_21.html

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[ Edited by: Tangaroa 2005-09-06 08:26 ]

Loved the story and loved the picture as well.

Ive thought about it, and im not sure how i ended up here...

My grandfather still has one of those styrofoam masks that is in your photo in his basement from the 50s or 60s.

On 2005-09-05 22:56, bananabobs wrote:
Thanks for sharing your memories, the yard sounds cool! And your God parents were too hip! Dig her glasses and his sandals with sox's!!! Like wow baby, out of this world!

Alas, I had also looked for a shot taken in the patio of my dad, in late 60s/early 70s splendor, complete with purple paisley shirt, beatles cut, and sandals. Also with socks. :)

Cheers,
Gwen Smith

On 2005-09-06 06:07, Tangaroa wrote:
NIce Gwenners!
I wish I had a photo like that with "proof" in the background..... Have you seen "Avocado Memories"? A great website about Wes Clarks memories of growing up in Glendale during the 60s & 70s....

Cool site -- I hadn't seen that before!

Now I'll have to dig through more shots of the yard. If I have 'em. :)

Cheers,
Gwen Smith
:sheckymug:

On 2005-09-06 09:31, Rob Roy wrote:
My grandfather still has one of those styrofoam masks that is in your photo in his basement from the 50s or 60s.

Very cool indeed!

Ours got tossed many a year ago, when my parents moved form that home into another, smaller, suburban home. To the best of my knowledge, all that was there is now long gone. I do rather wish I'd saved those masks (well, one of them, the other was pretty far gone) or some of the other old decor.

Cheers,
Gwen Smith
:sheckymug:

Wish i could grow up like that, but since we don´t have any tikiculture here it´s pretty hard. :cry:
nice story anyway!