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Beverly Hills Gothic
MISSING SIDNEY
My dad’s death was such a shock to all of us. He was a chain-smoker, which did his heart no good, and in those days people didn’t have the medical warnings or know the life-saving techniques we now have. For ten years after he died, his best buddies would often go to the cemetery to visit his grave. When I would run into any of them, they would start crying and hug me, saying how much they missed and loved Sidney
For a long time, I was unable to accept the fact that my father was gone forever. Until we left San Luis Obispo, I just imagined that he was alive and well in Los Angeles. But when we moved back to Los Angeles, I had to face reality. I miss him still.
This sterling silver bracelet was a gift from my father in the 1940s. It includes a Pluto dog, a western vest, a market basket, a baby carriage (for Pepper’s birth), a toilet, “Don’t Fence Me In,” an angel, a sombrero, a world globe, a hand, three blind mice, a turtle, a mermaid, a heart fan, a cowbell, an Indian headdress, a covered wagon, a cocker spaniel (like our dog, Windy), a cart, a sailor hat, a notepad and pencil, a drum with Danny’s duck, a bulldog, an Indian and a sailor
Opposite
A credenza in our living room at 804 N. Linden Drive covered with photographs of generations of Salters, Lipskys and Levines.