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The Goal Los Angeles It is a part ofprobability that many improbable things will happen. Aristotle, Poetics W e arrived at the Los Angeles railroad station, a Spanish-style building surrounded by palm trees and flowering plants, on a bright sunny morning in January 1934. What a dramatic change from the gray December skies of Portland and San Francisco! I was ready to fulfill my childhood dream ofliving in a house surrounded by flowers and fruit trees near the Pacific Ocean. This obsession had endured for almost eighteen years, and I returned with my ideal wife at the mature age oftwenty-seven. I had always believed life was to be lived and enjoyed as a couple. Fortunately, Annette shared this conviction. I had no doubts I had made the right decision! First we stayed at the Hotel Monarch at Fourth and Olive, where I paid five dollars per week for our twin bedroom and bath. Our first evening stroll on deserted Los Angeles streets made us wonder where the restaurants and theaters were. We soon learned that Los Angeles was made up of several spread-out communities linked by bus lines. For our separate work we needed a house. We didn't like any of the unattractive bungalows shown by rental agents, but we boarded a Wilshire bus to look again at one less-objectionable dwelling. Descending by error at Western Avenue and walking about the area where I thought the house might be, I noticed a sign, "For Rent," in the large window of a handsome two-story house at the corner of Ingraham Street. A next-door II2 The Goal • II3 neighbor, the agent, ran out to show us the pleasing, sunny interior. It had a living room with an adequate grand piano, dining room, kitchen, small bedroom, and bath on the first floor. Upstairs there were two large sunny bedrooms that shared a bathroom (two other bedrooms and a bath were reserved for the owners, who were schoolteachers). It was completely -and nicely-furnished, and the rent and utilities, including telephone, came to only thirty-five dollars per month! I paid the first month's rent and we quickly settled in. Our music, trunks, and paintings were sent from New York and were delivered from the local Lyons Storage . We again had Avery, Terechkovitch, Burliuk, Pougny, and Lebduska paintings on our walls. Our landlords approved ofour unusual decor and did not mind our practicing! Nearby Westlake Park had a small lake among palm trees, with canoes for rent. So on a few Sunday afternoons, I rowed Annette around the lake. We both enjoyed these quiet interludes. Later, the park was renamed MacArthur, and Wilshire Boulevard was regraded to bisect the lake into two small ponds, which unfortunately ended boating. We presented Chuck Myers's letter to the NBC radio station KFI, heard from western states to Chicago, and were immediately engaged by program manager Jose Rodriguez to playa fifteen-minute recital each week from IO:I5 to IO:30 P.M. He sent out press releases and had Don Willson announce our programs. Don later achieved national fame as the announcer for the Jack Benny program. We thought the slot was too late for most listeners, presuming many people turned off their radios when the news ended. When I visited Abrasha Koodlach's violin shop on Broadway to buy strings, this cheerful Russian Jewish craftsman was very enthusiastic about our radio programs. We were pleased someone had heard us. He urged me to join the musicians' union, saying I would not be permitted to play chamber music with local musicians ifI were not a member. Following his advice, we both joined Local 47, American Federation of Musicians . We were very surprised to learn there were two organizations, one for white musicians, the other for darker-hued members! We helped to end this unnatural situation, and Local 47 eventually became a fully integrated union. We were remarkably happy in sunny Los Angeles, with no problems in paying our rent and household expenses. Besides our radio fees, I soon had a few pupils and was engaged for concerts at modest fees in outlying communities such as Santa Barbara, Riverside, and San Bernardino. After a few pleasant weeks of performing and teaching, I realized one must have an automobile to live and work in such a sprawling city. I II4 A Fiddler's Tale bought a secondhand Model A Ford, a canvas-topped two-seater roadster , with the condition that...

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