Category: A Whole New World

Being in Los Angeles, First Church of the Nazarene had its share of members who were in the entrainment business. As the Mother Church for the denomination, we also received a good bit of attention from Headquarters in Kansas City, MO. James Dobson and his Focus on the Family were a big thing in the…

 As youth director, I think it was expected that I would participate in the summer camps, especially being a member of the mother church. The camp was held in the San Jacinto mountains at Idyllwild. I’m sure the camp had a name, but we all just called it Idlewild. It was a sort of rustic…

Steve was one of the best looking young men I have ever met in my life. Long blond hair, lean muscular body, a basketball and baseball jock, pretty face, perpetually ruddy cheeks, and a dazzling smile. He was 17 when we met at camp. I don’t recall if he was in my cabin nor, if…

I began my “career” in food service at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Hollywood, CA. In the tradition of that company, the restaurant was housed in an old brick warehouse building, with a trolley car in the middle, furnished with antiques—booths made from the headboards and footboards of antique beds, antique tables and chairs, and…

I took a 10-day Caribbean Cruise with Rodney and Jimmy. I’m not sure why Steve wasn’t part of that. Maybe because of the money or something. We booked it through a travel agent friend from church. He suggested 10 days, saying seven isn’t enough and 14 can be too much. It was on one of…

After Jon Ross and I split up, I rented a room from Mary, a fellow server at Tony’s Sea Landing. I’d visited Laguna Beach and knew that’s where I wanted to be. Taking the room with Mary gave me the chance to get away from Jon Ross, regroup and look for a place to live…