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Beverly Hills Gothic
FAMILY OUTINGS AND SHOUTING
My mother and father were very affectionate, and there was always lots of hugging and kissing. Sometimes, though, my mother acted strange. When she did, she and my father had huge fights. On Sundays we would go on family outings to “the country,” which was the San Fernando Valley. We would drive over Laurel Canyon to see the cows, horses and big ranches. I would always get carsick and lie down on the back seat of our big, beige, four-
door Studebaker.
Soon my parents would get into a fight, and then my father would speed up and shout, “I’m going to drive into the next tree! Do you see that tree up there? Well watch me drive right into it!” My mother would start crying, but he kept shouting, “You asked for it! The very next tree, the biggest tree I can find, I’m going to drive into it and we’ll all get killed! Then you’ll be happy!” My mother would beg him to stop the car or turn around and go
home! I would start crying too, and it was always a disaster!
The infamous Studebaker that Sidney would refinance when he needed money.