Flights of Fancy

Modes of transportation seemed to captivate the boys’ imaginations. In addition to the Bozo II, Claire designed several impressive pushcarts that he was able to construct thanks to the wheels the boys would scrounge from Fred Hunziker’s automotive shop as well as the provisions they purchased at the local lumberyard. It fell to Freddy and David to not only make the supply runs, but also to come up with the funds for purchasing said supplies. This necessity spawned their clandestine flower business. While father Tony was otherwise occupied, the boys would clip choice specimens of zinnias, gladiolas, and asters from his abundant flower garden and then offer bouquets to various neighbors for a modest price. Any earnings were exchanged for scrap lumber purchased from the neighborhood’s most generous lumberyard proprietor who surely sold the boys far more merchandize than their nickel or dime actually afforded. Once he even gave them a bag of nails, which saved them hours of arduous labor, straightening used ones. One of Claire’s carts even took advantage of the rather impressive spring and summer winds that would blow through the flat lands of South Gate. Attaching a sail to some two-by-fours mounted on wheels, the boys could pick up quite a bit of speed as they sailed down the dusty and almost always empty San Carlos Avenue.

Of all the various modes of transportation that were quickly evolving in the first half of the twentieth century, however, flight was the one that enthralled the boys most completely. Besides building make-believe fuselages in which to experience hours of imaginative flight, they also got the idea to try their hand at actual aeronautics. Having rescued an impressive sheet of thin wood from a packing crate, the boys set about building a frame, which they covered with the plywood, ultimately crafting a wing spanning over six feet. They attached webbing through which a brave pilot could slip his arms and quickly nominated Claire to be that brave pilot. Surveying the various runways available to them, the boys decided upon Freddy’s slope-roofed garage, which was deemed perfect for their initial challenge to gravity’s relentless law. All Claire had to do was take a running leap and surely, like the hapless Icarus before him, he’d soar! And so, with arms stretched under the expanse of wing, Claire ran and then dove head first off the garage, hoping its seven-foot height would give him the time and air space he needed to ascend. It didn’t, and soon his chest and chin plowed through the newly planted grass in the sandy loam below. For their part, Freddy and David were certain that just before he crashed, the audacious aviator was gaining altitude! That said, they were never able to convince Claire to give it another go.