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Jerry Olivas, EdD
CV memories time!
Hi All,
Wow, that surveillance situation in Chula Vista sounds pretty heavy duty. I recently heard, and did a little web research, about how Chula Vista is one of the most surveilled cities in the US. This got me thinking a little about who was watching and listening to me and my friends during my Hilltop Jr. and Senior High days.
During those days surely, my parents were trying to figure out what I was up to, but I was smarter than them—certainly I was smarter than them! But I do remember a couple of stories that I wasn’t so smart about. One was sneaking out at night through my bedroom window to meet up with Jim Probert and Mickey Wright to help ourselves to the ‘free’ ice cream from the nearby Eskimo and Good Humor trucks parked outside of some of my good neighbor’s houses. Not sure why they never lock the door to those delicious ice cream sandwiches. I think it had something to do with keeping the truck connected to an electrical source. Anyway, easily we could help ourselves to two or three sandwiches or bars with—with no ‘steakin’ cameras surveilling us.
Another more daring escaped was ‘borrowing’ my and other parent’s cars after everyone was fast asleep. The favorite here was Roger Williams’ mom’s ’59 White Chevy convertible. Roger and I, and I think Dean Butterfield, could get that Chevy over 100 on the Silver Strand, top down. Rolling my dad’s ’51 four door Ford out of the garage and down the street was a little trickier than Roger’s mom’s car, and not nearly as fast, but that drive to drive, and, I guess, get away with something, meant we had to do it. The tricky part of ‘borrowing’ a family car in the middle of the night (very early morning actually) was keeping as silent as possible. For the Ford it was push it down the street a little and pop the clutch to start the engine. Roger lived on a slight hill so shoving it down the driveway and down the street until starting the car was easy and quiet enough. However, getting back in the garage because of the slight incline of most driveways was rather difficult, which meant getting the garage door opened in advance, getting your speed up, then turn the engine off, and do a high-speed coast exactly into the parking spot, with an occasional retry.
But old school type in-person surveillance did catch up with me on my ice cream and Ford excursions. Once when I was stepping out my bedroom window I stepped on the outside water spigot and accidentally twisted the water on and that very faint water running noise eventually woke my dad up and he was not patiently waiting for me after my early morning dessert courses. On my return seeing the lights on in the house about 3:00 AM caused my full belly of ice cream to become a bit upset. My excuse of “I went back to Hilltop Jr. High to get a book I forgot in my locker” did not work. I thought about telling my dad that if mom would buy more ice cream to have around the house that I wouldn’t feel the need to go out for dessert in the middle of the night, but I was smart enough not to say that.
But much worse than my ice cream bust was getting caught after having a fun night (early morning) of laying rubber in my dad’s Ford. It was that damn snoopy ‘surveilling’ neighbor that had insomnia and was good friends with my parents. Yep, there my dad was sitting in our Cinderella home kitchen nook with the lights on waiting for my return. I think it was the maddest I had ever seen him. But luckily it wasn’t that bad for me because ‘borrowing’ of the ’51 Ford on that night my brother (Jim) came with me, which he almost never did. And he was the older, so he got most of the blame.
Yes, those were the days; won’t forget, and yes, would do it all over again. And those of you, you know who you are, that I passed in those very early morning hours, good we did those fun things then because staying out sight of all that Chula Vista surveillance, including those low flying drones, wouldn’t be easy now. It might be easier to stay out of sight of parents and neighbors.
And I must say this, too much surveillance is a bit of a scary thing. Personally, I don’t have anything to hide, and I am not hiding from anybody (the exception here is the Mexican Federales). But in all seriousness best that businesses, governments, and others don’t know too much about each of us because history has shown us that they may and do use that information in ways that are not legal, fair, or ethical. Just sayin’
Okay, off to to survey those xmas lights on Guava Avenue, if that still happens. ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS HILLTOP CLASS OF ’64.
Ciao, Jerry
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