BOB HOLT REPORTING Our Place is ‘For the Birds’ Now June 2, 1962 For a long time, I had the half-formed idea in my mind that I wanted to put a bird feeding tray in the front walnut tree to encourage more songsters to hang around our house. It buoys my spirits to...
Bob Holt Reporting
At the Father-Daughter Dance
BOB HOLT REPORTING At the Father-Daughter Dance May 9, 1961 I had received my instructions in advance from my 13-year-old daughter, Debby. “Please Daddy,” she said, “try to remember. Don’t ask me to dance, don’t talk loud, and don’t laugh loud. Try not to be...
Road Trips
BOB HOLT REPORTING Road Trips November 1960 Last week, our family left home on a short Thanksgiving trip, and, true to form, had to circle the block and come back for some forgotten article before really, truly leaving. Now I am a believer in family customs, but this...
K as in Kennel
BOB HOLT REPORTING K as in Kennel It comes as a shock to read my favorite newspaper the other day and to realize that I am within half a cat of being tabbed as a kennel operator. The issue came up at a meeting of the County Planning Commission, where Planner Don...
A Midnight Mission
During my dad’s career, he wrote thousands of columns on every subject imaginable – from the mundane to the lofty. He wrote about anything that interested him, and everything interested him. BOB HOLT REPORTING A Midnight Mission I had said I would never do it, but I...
Our Dog Tigo
During the period covered by my book (1958-1962), we owned a black shaggy dog named Tigo. I left Tigo out of A LOVELY GIRL not because I loved him less than our other pets, but because with Cinderella the cat’s unexpected demise in the back yard “under mysterious...
Betsey’s Appendicitis
Sixty-five years ago, my little sister Betsey survived a critical illness with her usual aplomb. My parents were terrified at the time and didn’t say much about her condition. I remember my father telling me the morning after her surgery that she would be fine,...
Smiling Snooks
During my dad’s career, he wrote many columns about our neighborhood pets. Sometimes he claimed to be annoyed by these animals, but he was actually very fond of all of them. Especially Snooks. September 1955 I am beset these days by a smiling dog, and it is getting so...
In the Wild Blue
Since the exploit of Larry Walters, I have been looking on our lawn chairs in a different way. Walters is the 33-year-old North Hollywood truck driver who went for an aerial journey two months ago from San Pedro seated in a lawn chair. He was able to rise to a height...
My Wife Has Quite A Different View
My father sometimes wrote columns about my mother and with only a few exceptions she enjoyed them. I can remember her laughing her head off as she read. Sometimes she would laugh so hard that he would ask her (in an irritated voice!) to please leave the room because...
