Making the Man

"Most days have no impact in the course of a LIFE."
Narrator
from the 2009 film
"500 Days of Summer"

My dear friend and fellow photographer, Hanne Reid, of Vancouver, Canada sent me these words of wisdom associated with NOAH's ARK. I liked it and thought I would post it on my blog today:

Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark .
ONE: Don't miss the boat.

TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat!

THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.

FOUR: Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

FIVE: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
SIX: Build your future on high ground.

SEVEN: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.

EIGHT: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

NINE: When you're stressed, float awhile.

TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

ELEVEN: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Twenty-five years ago today:

October 20, 1984
Saturday

Helen did not spend the night here tonight. She spent the night at her sister Geneva’s house in San Leandro, so it was peacefully lonely. I slept in until 10:30AM or so. As I left the house I met a young lad outside. He was sweeping the front yard next door. I guess that’s his job every Saturday (so he says), making five-dollars for sweeping their garage and straightening out their backyard. He was wearing a faded gray T-Shirt. He could not be more than thirteen or fourteen years old (maybe less actually). He was a nice young boy. He seemed to like me because I struck up some conversation with him during his boring chores. His name is Aubrey. After our friendly talk he hopped on his bike and rode with me over the Bay Farm Island Bridge.
“Who knows, maybe I will hire you as well,” I said encouragingly.

It’s just a matter of figuring out what I want Aubrey to do. He actually lives in Central Alameda. As we rode together we bumped into Ron coming in our direction; whereby, Aubrey sped up Otis Drive and I went my own way via Bayview to Shoreline Drive. I continued with non-stop riding until about 12:30pm this afternoon when I decided I wanted to drive into San Francisco.

I wanted to visit the Wilkes-Bashford men’s store and possibly apply for a part-time job there. I arrived at 1:30pm and parked in a No Parking zone, learning my lesson later with a twenty-dollar parking ticket.

When I walked into the Wilkes-Bashford store there were about four male models there and they were serving free champagne. Allen Flusser, the designer, who wrote “Making the Man: The Insider's Guide to Buying Mens Clothes”, was at the store. I talked to him briefly. He was “so-so” personality-wise. He signed his book for me and included his address in New York.

I spoke to the dimwit models for a while. One guy was named David O’Neill of Concord, CA and another was named Bill from Santa Cruz, CA. The twenty-nine year old named Andy from ‘MODEL Management’ seemed to be the most “together” of the bunch. I just kept sipping champagne and ‘hanging out’ because everyone was friendly and the clothes were so cool. I wished I could afford them. I learned that the models were each making about $800 for the day to just sit, drink champagne and change their outfits each hour!

I also met a couple of the sales clerks. Karen was one of the clerks. The other sales clerk was Bob Umland.
“Why don’t you call me and we can see about lunch?” Bob asked happily as he handed me his business card.
Bob was wearing suede camel colored pants. I loved them. I was really having such a good time prowling about the Wilkes-Bashford men’s boutique in my $95 turtleneck and leather jacket. The champagne (at least FIVE glasses) did me in. I never did inquire about a job. I had more fun picking the brains of the male models and trying to find out if they liked their field of work.

When my fun afternoon hanging out at Wilkes-Bashford was over at 5pm I drove back to Alameda to mom’s house. She invited me for pasta and some homemade tortillas, too. It was filling—to say the least. I stayed there for a while and then ventured home.

I decided I would try calling Bob Umland, the Wilkes-Bashford sales clerk. The directory assistance operator had only one listing but when I telephoned the number I had a never ending busy signal. Feeling bored at home I drove out to Webster Street where I browsed a bookstore and started feeling hungry again. There was a NATIONS nearby, so I ordered a vanilla milkshake and a hamburger ‘to go’. I went home to enjoy another dinner.

The telephone rang after the second bite of my burger.
“Hi Michael, its Helen, do you want to go to Yoshi’s for dinner? Geneva and I are planning to go now.”
“It sounds good but I just finished eating.”

At around 9:30pm Mike Miller telephoned. He seemed to want to talk, so I just invited him to come over. I tried to get him to stay the night again.
“I would but my mom is going to make something to eat.”
“Ok, well I’m tired and I’m going to sleep now.”

Mike left and I tried to watch “Cover Up” (the Jon Erik Hexum television show) series but I could barely keep my eyes open. I fell asleep only to wake again that night because I heard Helen enter the house. I emerged from bed and enjoyed a glass of milk with a slice of Helen’s famous homemade banana-nut bread. I needed to get rid of that raw onion taste from the burger I had devoured only a few hours earlier.