Elaine's new prison roommate

[Demosthenes]

Supplemented by bales of alfalfa. I mucked a neighbor's pasture, kept their water tubs clean, and took care of their animals when they traveled in exchange for letting our horse live in their pasture. In the sixties and seventies, a bale of alfalfa was $5 if you didn't have it delivered, and you could pick up less-than-perfect produce (carrots and apples, for example) free from bins behind the market.

It wasn't expensive to keep a horse back then. What was expensive was the doctor's bill when I broke my hand in a riding accident. My mom was working two to three jobs at a time as a single parent and health insurance wasn't offered.

[LPC]

We inherited the horse when a neighbor died.

In the old west, they *hanged* people who "inherited" horses.

[grixit]

Do you remember chain of dairy outlets in the Valley? They all had stacks of hay and alfalfa around them, i guess to seem more homey. When ever i think of bales of fodder, i think of them.

[LDE]

There are a lot of po' folks in Texas who own and breed horses. (To me "dirt poor" implies owning or renting a little land. People on the two coasts that matter may not believe this, but you can have a few acres in Texas and still be really poor.)

If you have the grass to feed a horse, you only need to supplement that with a little grain, maybe $40 a month worth. An occasional vet bill and you're all set.

You can still buy a pretty good quarter horse for about $1000. (I traded an old car for a young horse once, and that was during a period when I had very little money and lived in conditions that civilized America could barely imagine.) The tack is more expensive than the horse, but you can buy used.

[Demosthenes]

There are a lot of po' folks in Texas who own and breed horses. (To me "dirt poor" implies owning or renting a little land. People on the two coasts that matter may not believe this, but you can have a few acres in Texas and still be really poor.)

The same was true of rural California during the 60s as well. My mom bought the home and land in Topanga Canyon 1968 for $12,000. It's a shame she sold it when I went off to college, because part of the original land sold for $1.5 million about 8 years ago. The original house is now long gone (it had been built as part of an artist colony in 1927 - something called Park Moderne) and a huge mansion thing was built which is probably worth several million. Some time in the mid 80s, Calabasas became a chic place to live. When I was there it was well water, septic systems, a wood burning fireplace and kerosene stove for heat, no air conditioning, no tv reception, we grew our own fruit and vegies, kept goats and chickens, and so on. Now, it's Jay Leno, Will Smith, Jessica Simpson, Denise Richards, and a zillion other Hollywood actors in McMansions.

[ASITStands]

You might find more memories here.

[Demosthenes]

You might find more memories here.

Park Moderne
Park Moderne was envisioned as an artist colony in the hills above Calabasas. It opened in 1927 with cabins and cottages and ambitious plans for a full-fledged community. The Depression dashed those plans. Remnants remain on Bluebird Drive and Blackbird Way.

Hey, that's neat. The "remnant" on Blackbird Way was a glass mosaic fountain in our front yard.

[Cobalt Shiva]

Notice that Woodson did the bank robbery in Kansas and not Texas?

She may be crazy, but she ain't stupid. In Texas, she would've been ventilated from about five different directions when she pulled the starter pistol out.