Happy happy happy birthday, dear cillaliz!!! Health, joy, and prosperity to you!!!
TOD - the pony rides and kiddyland... the Kiru restaurant... what was the name of that pink ice cream store on Beverly Drive?? the field next to the liquor store where my mom used to send us kids off with $20 to get her a carton of cigarettes... the guy who had the bar on Robertson Blvd, who used to raise dachshunds in his back yard... the guy on Preuss Rd who had an actual private zoo on his property, behind the big hedges, with monkeys and a donkey, and other animals - right there on the next block from us, across Sawyer... Miceli's Pizza on La Cienega... Wan Q and Hoi Ping on Pico... the Stadium Theater, that we could walk to, and my mom got rid of us for the length of 2 movies and 5 cartoons and a yo-yo contest on Saturdays, for a total of $2 - a quarter apiece to get in, and a quarter apiece for enough popcorn and candy to keep us throwing up long after bedtime... still, obviously worth it to her...