Further Exploration of the Mile High City
Saturday, July 9th, 2011
For the first and only time during our visit to Colorado, Sarah was able to spend the day with Chris, Jamie, and me, as we continued our exploration of Denver on Sunday, May 29, 2011. Having had a more sensible amount of sleep the night before, we were able to get up, moving, chow down some orange and cinnamon rolls, stash up on Red Vines, greet Sarah’s Mom who had arrived the night before, say goodbye to Livi, and get on the road by about 9:30am. It was an incredible feat. By the end of the day, only we would know the answer to the age old question: “why is everyone touching that chair?” Read the rest of this entry »
I entered the state of Wyoming – the least populous state in the entire United States of America – for the first time at about 2:40pm local time on Friday, May 27, 2011. Although there are some nice National Parks to explore one day on the northwest portion of the state, I only had one item of interest to see that was located on the southeast side. You guessed it… the State Capitol building is located in Cheyenne – the state’s most populated city with a population of around 60,000 – which was only about a two-hour drive to Denver. My cousin Chris obliged my whimsy and drove. Jamie obliged it and went along. And Livi obliged all of our whimsies by not screaming at the top of her lungs. At least for a while. 
Clearly Bob and I were exhausted after our week-long car trek through parts of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona – but that didn’t stop us from getting up at 5:00am on the morning of Saturday, April 2, 2011, with the hope of one lone celebrity encounter. But this wasn’t just any celebrity, it was former Our Gang member Jackie Cooper – a gentleman whom I had always hoped to meet. In order to not be too anti-climactic, I’ll tell you now that I did not get to meet him. 
Continuing with my series of Hollywood cemeteries is the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. For visitors wanting to get the most bang for their buck when it comes to Hollywood celebrities, one wouldn’t find a more condensed gathering of famous burials than this location. Just by casually browsing the cemetery, I was able to spot more than twenty-five famous graves in less than one hour’s time. Oddly situated in a downtown area, this small cemetery is very easy to get around. Tour groups often stop here to see its most famous grave, that of Marilyn Monroe. 
Knowing Virginia Karns Patterson was truly one of the most unique and fulfilling experiences in my life. I had met many celebrities – mostly in the Laurel & Hardy and Our Gang realm – up to that point, but never had I carried on a true friendship with any of them. Virginia was mostly known for her role as Mother Goose in the 1934 Laurel & Hardy film Babes in Toyland. She also had supporting roles in several other Hal Roach short subjects which included Four Parts (Charley Chase series), Soup and Fish (Todd-Kelly series), and Music in Your Hair (starring Billy Gilbert and Billy Bletcher).