This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Only In Los Gatos (a really short version)

In the 1980′s, as we Los Gatos artists were starting to get a little older, more experienced and more professional, we were getting a bit more savy and jaded. The good looking Los Gatos had grown up along with us, and as the new money started moving into town, we took advantage of it as often as possible. Now we were able to do the sort of work we dream of but no one, before, could afford. Now, often enough, we could do some of those dream jobs.


But, as we had to live through the old days when the town was pretty run down and very funky, when some of the more “over the top” high-class identities started coming into town, we would check them out and wonder if Mister “Ultra Chic Sunglasses” store knew that his place once was a septic tank pumping company. And we would snigger at our long term memories and the unknowing pretensions of the new, glossy inhabitants of these old, resurrected store fronts. Who would ever think that the sewage company would ever have a huge spotlight in front of it, with its overbearing generator roaring at the night, scanning the dark sky for fame and success. We would smugly smile at the irony unbeknownst to this new, self-satisfied and naive clientele.

.

Find out what's happening in Los Gatoswith free, real-time updates from Patch.



Rick Tharp was a well regarded graphic designer and was my best friend. He, in his thin lapeled, black silk jacket and puffy black pants, and me in my ever present t-shirt and levis, would wander around town and we were near the top of the charts when it came to having the most sardonic and sarcastic verbal emanations when it came to just about any topic. Indeed, we had to learn to tone it down when we were around straight people, by golly, as they thought we really were such nasty assholes to say such audacious and rancorous things. We just thought we were having fun being clever. Now that we doing pretty good business, we couldn’t afford to offend so off-handidly. We had to be more careful with our smart mouths as now they could bite into our more generous incomes.

One day we were driving past Ken Keegan’s long vacant, foreign car showroom across from the Civic Center and the windows were soaped over. There were large, water colored letters painted into the white soaped background warning us that a new car dealership would soon be in that location. It was going to be a Ferrari dealership (Now, the home of Lamborginis and Aston Martins). Indeed, spanking brand new, red Ferrari’s were going to be sold right here in our town. We remember when the first Mercedes had come to town and it was a big deal among all the old pickup trucks. Now, new Ferraris! Whew, what a mind bender!!

Rick and I drove past these soaped up windows and their announcement in his beat up, twenty year old, convertible, white Karman Ghia and we rolled our eyes and, for the first time, we said in unison,
“Only in Los Gatos.”

Find out what's happening in Los Gatoswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We came to say that many times over the next many years . . . 

(Click here to read conclusion)

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?