Dad took this picture of my brother Bill with me in my bedroom, 1979. The old Nut Tree in Vacaville used to sell those beautiful black-and-white aviation posters, and I remember building each of the model airplanes hanging from the ceiling.
Two of my "all-time favorite" aircraft are represented in my model collection. The Monogram 1/48-scale C-47 in the far corner of the room was one of the largest kits I ever built, and I was proud of it. The Revell 1/32-scale F4F-4 Wildcat is here, too, barely visible in the upper left corner of the frame. My brother helped me discover the book "Incredible Victory" by Walter Lord when I was about 12 years old, and my fascination with the Wildcat probably started there.
Tags: 500+ views 1970s suburbia my brother scale model model airplanes
I took this picture of my father doing paperwork at Hampton Drive around 1980.
I took this picture of my Dad in my parents' bedroom in July 1980, just before he shaved his beard.
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Back yard of my family's former home on Hampton Drive.
This house was part of a development built in 1962 by Del Webb. My parents bought it from its original owners in 1972.
The deck and the trellis were installed by the original owners. My dad made the screens that lie on top of the trellis; they could be put up or removed easily according to the season.
Tags: 1960s homes 1980s backyard suburbia Hampton Drive Almaden Valley 500+ views California homes
My friends Hunter, on the left, and Mitch, on the right, in the backyard of my family's old house 1980.