If you saw “The Way” you might remember the scene in the haystacks. On our 2013 Camino we were excited to see them, looking just like in the movie. And there were a lot of them. This year we have seen only a few and they seemed old and deteriorating. One we saw was being taken down and hauled away. I guess new technology has made them obsolete. In previous Caminos (more northern ones) we saw the hay in wheels that were enclosed in plastic, keeps them drier I guess. In fact, during a previous Caminos I uncovered a sinister plot involving them. I’ll say no more.
Back in the 1960s in LA I used to watch wrestling from the Olympic Auditorium. And “Whoa, Nellie!” Dick Lane was a great announcer and Gorgeous George really put it to the pencil necks. I don’t remember him wrestling at the Olympic but these photos make me think of Haystacks Calhoun.
These guys were all fascinating characters.
Charlie, I too remember watching Dick Lane announce the matches from the Olympic Aud. Gorgeous George was a crowd favorite. Back then wresatling was a lot more fun than today’s crazy version.
It was a simpler time, still scripted but those guys were real athletes who knew wrestling. Pencil neck was a real insult because wrestlers have strong necks to avoid pins.
An interesting coda: in the early 80s I spent a year living next to my sister Cathy in West LA and I joined the YMCA. Some really big, older guys were lifting there and I got to chatting with them. It turns out they had wrestled at the Olympic and knew Gorgeous George and Dick Lane. I had probably seen them on TV.