My early memories of Uncle Jimmy's family were of the relatively infrequent visits, where we would pack up the car with cloths and kids and troop down to Los Angeles, or vice versa. The four sets of cousins matched each other in age pretty well: Sheila and Suzi; Kathy and Tim; Mike and me; Pete and Linda. I still remember the fun I had with Mike and the tantrum I threw when it was time for us to leave... recorded on film somewhere. That episode was joked about for many years afterwards.
Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Bernice were two of the sincerest, warmest people I have known. You couldn't help but like them. I got to know them a little bit better when I relocated to Southern California and visited them, periodically, at their home overlooking the ocean in San Pedro.
While Dad worked for the State most of his life, Jimmy had an entreneural bent. During his early career, he owned a Texaco gas station. Then, he started a record store. Unfortunately, that enterprise was undercut by the advent of large record stores, against which he couldn't compete. Somewhere along the line -- maybe Kathy can expand on this -- the whole family rented a theater and organized a concert featuring Pearl Bailey ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Bailey). After the concert, the audience gave Pearl a standing ovation, the first she had ever received. She was particularly grateful to the "Southern Fitz's" for that.
Finally, Jimmy opted for a job in the LA County Tax Assessor's Office, where he determined the assessed valuations of homes. Back in the day, that was a critical role, establishing the market value of a house, which then determined how much a family had to pay in property taxes. Now, with Proposition 13, market values are established at the time of purchase and only increase 2% a year. The position was a ynion one and Jimmy played a prominent role in union activities.
Jimmy was a also poet. Over the years, I've tried to emulate his way with words, both humorous and serious. Aunt Bernice kept all his writings and Sheila typed them up for him as a surprise for one of his birthdays. I had a copy of the anthology -- titled A Poet's View -- but have somehow misplaced it. Hopefully, Kathy or someone else will post some of his poems on this site. I'll be happy to create a section for it.
David Fitzharris (2000)
My early memories of Uncle Jimmy's family were of the relatively infrequent visits, where we would pack up the car with cloths and kids and troop down to Los Angeles, or vice versa. The four sets of cousins matched each other in age pretty well: Sheila and Suzi; Kathy and Tim; Mike and me; Pete and Linda. I still remember the fun I had with Mike and the tantrum I threw when it was time for us to leave... recorded on film somewhere. That episode was joked about for many years afterwards.
Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Bernice were two of the sincerest, warmest people I have known. You couldn't help but like them. I got to know them a little bit better when I relocated to Southern California and visited them, periodically, at their home overlooking the ocean in San Pedro.
While Dad worked for the State most of his life, Jimmy had an entreneural bent. During his early career, he owned a Texaco gas station. Then, he started a record store. Unfortunately, that enterprise was undercut by the advent of large record stores, against which he couldn't compete. Somewhere along the line -- maybe Kathy can expand on this -- the whole family rented a theater and organized a concert featuring Pearl Bailey ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Bailey). After the concert, the audience gave Pearl a standing ovation, the first she had ever received. She was particularly grateful to the "Southern Fitz's" for that.
Finally, Jimmy opted for a job in the LA County Tax Assessor's Office, where he determined the assessed valuations of homes. Back in the day, that was a critical role, establishing the market value of a house, which then determined how much a family had to pay in property taxes. Now, with Proposition 13, market values are established at the time of purchase and only increase 2% a year. The position was a ynion one and Jimmy played a prominent role in union activities.
Jimmy was a also poet. Over the years, I've tried to emulate his way with words, both humorous and serious. Aunt Bernice kept all his writings and Sheila typed them up for him as a surprise for one of his birthdays. I had a copy of the anthology -- titled A Poet's View -- but have somehow misplaced it. Hopefully, Kathy or someone else will post some of his poems on this site. I'll be happy to create a section for it.