Ode to Cupid's

Well, folks, this is it. The Last Day of Cupid's Hot Dogs. I can't think of a more "Northridge" institution. There are a few business that have been here longer, Vons for instance opened in 1962, and Northridge Lumber opened (I think) in the 30s or 40s, but both are big commercial businesses, not really Mom & Pop shops, and anyway Northridge Lumber changed ownership a year ago and is no longer called Northridge Lumber. Our local Jack-in-the-Box has been in place at least since we moved to the 'Ridge in 1968, and so have the Baskin-Robbins ice cream store (aka "31 Flavors") and the My Hero sandwich shop, so they too might have Cupid's longevity (our Cupid's was established in 1964).

But Cupid's is Cupid's. It's like if you had an old A&W Root Beer stand still in place by your beach house. Remember the A&W stands? There weren't that many of them. I don't recall one in the Valley, but they had one in Santa Monica, and one in Laguna Beach, and holy smokes did they have some awesome, ice cold root beer in those conical waxpaper cups, and some of the best cheeseburgers you ever had. And they were just little walk-up stands, like Cupid's.

The thing about our Cupid's, when we moved to Northridge in January 1968, was that it was right across the street from our house. Not more than 100 yards away. We lived on Osborne, one house from Lindley Avenue, and Cupid's was on Lindley. It was right there. I don't remember how much a dog was in 1968, but it couldn't have been more than, what, 69 cents? Probably more like 49. And it was the same dog that you get today, maybe from a different supplier, but the same dog with that snap, and the steamed bun. "Two with everything". That's what I always ordered. Two with everything and a Coke. Probably cost a buck and a quarter. Nowadays, two with everything and a Coke will set you back about 13 bucks or so. But that's just modern times. A box of graham crackers, at Vons, is six dollars, and that's just a regular, small box of regular graham crackers. But back to Cupid's....

I can remember going there a lot, starting in the Summer of '69. Was that a legendary Summer, or what? That was the Summer when Mom drove us to Santa Monica beach almost every single day. My school friend Doug C. often went along. He was a Mormon whose Dad worked for the Hughes Corporation and knew Robert Maheu, the right-had man to Hughes himself. I didn't know much about Mormons, only that they couldn't drink coffee. Doug couldn't get a Coke when we went to Cupid's, because it had caffeine. But yeah, we'd leave early for the beach. Mom had her grey Impala then. She only drove for a couple years, in the early 1960s, when she had a Plymouth, and again in '69, because she didn't like driving. But that Summer, we'd leave for Santa Monica around 10 or 11, pick up Doug C., and go to Santa Monica beach. The pier wasn't far from where we'd put our towels, but there were hippies there in those days, and Mom said to stay away. There was always a rumor of LSD, or "acid", which made you think they were swallowing battery acid. But worse were the Hell's Angels and Synanon. "Stay away from the pier, boys, and stay away from the people in the white robes."
Those were the Synanon patients. Mom said they were harmless, but "stay away from them" anyway. We only saw them once or twice; they looked like zombies wandering the beach. I think I heard the phrase "drug addicts" around that time. 1969 was a whole lot different than the Flower Power Summer of 1967, with it's sunny Sunshine Hippies and their daisies. '69 was darker, more of a Stones vibe than a Beatles one. But it was still an awesome Summer.

I also went to Y-camp that Summer, up in the mountains at Wrightwood. I was there for a week. Doug C. went too, as did our school pals Robert and Richard R., whose Dad worked for NASA. I wrote home once or twice when I was there, to ask my parents if my issue of Hot Rod magazine had come in the mail. I had a subscription, and boy, did I love my Hot Rods! Hot Rods were a big deal in 1969. So were choppers, or "Harley Chopped Hogs" as we called them. We thought, "the longer the fork, the cooler". And it had to be chrome. For a little while, I even thought Hell's Angels were cool. But really, it was only because they rode choppers.

I built models of Hot Rods that year, including The Red Baron (with silver German helmet), and a whole bunch of others. In 1970, I built a Camaro that I painted candy-apple red. We talk about phonics: how about the sound of that phrase? Candy Apple Red. It sounds like you can taste it, and the color looks just like it tastes, or sounds. I've probably mentioned before that I entered my candy-apple red Camaro in a contest at the brand new 7/11 store located waaaay up on Plummer Street, which seemed like a mile away (which is about what it was, but a mile was a freakin' long way to a kid). I entered their contest, and man....I won second prize! They hung the winners from the ceiling, and though I didn't get up to 7/11 much (because it was a mile away), I was proud when I did see it hanging there. Then the earthquake came in February 1971. After the dust settled, I went up to the 7/11 to see about my model. It had fallen to the floor and had broken an axle, but that was all. I took it home in it's plastic dust bag, and had it in my room for many years. Mom said the 7/11 corporation was owned by Jackie Onassis, or the Kennedys. Something like that. I'd never seen a 7/11 before 1969. And it too, it still there, which makes it one of the older businesses in Northridge.

But yeah, the last day of Cupid's. I'll be there tonight before 9 pm. I'll wait in line (the lines have been long this week, I've been checking it out on my walks), and I'd love to be the very last customer ever served, but I'm not gonna try to wait it out. I imagine that others might have the same idea. If I was in my 20s, I'd probably do it, just stand off to the side and wait. I wonder how they are gonna work it, if the line is still long at 9 pm? Maybe stay open past 9, and just keep serving til everyone is gone? That's probably what they'll do. And if I was 25, or even 35, I might wait it out. Just stand off to the side, and wait for an indication that they were gonna close up. Try to be the last guy in the cut-off. Then I could say "I was the last customer ever served at Cupid's", in all the 60 years they were there. But I'm 63, so I don't think I'll do it. I'll just go on my walk as usual, maybe at around 8:30 pm, and who knows......maybe I'll be The Last in Line, and maybe I won't.

But I'm gonna order "two with everything". That means mustard, onions and chili. When I was nine, in 1969, I'd once in a while order three. But two is the usual, always with everything. No Coke this time, not because I don't like Coke, just because it's an extra three bucks, and well, you've gotta cut some corners these days. I hope there will be an empty table where I can sit and eat, and take in the view of the 76 Station, which has been there as long as Cupid's. Man, that's a whole 'nuther blog; the story of the 76 Station. You can ask Davey Small about that one. But yeah, I'd like to sit at one of the pink stone tables. They've been there since 1964. But they've been full of hungry customers since the long lines began last week. I'll probably have to eat standing up. I have a tendency to eat fast. This time I'll try to eat slow. I just wanna get that 1969 vibe once again, when "Honky Tonk Women" was on the radio, and I bought baseball cards at the liquor store by the train tracks, past Parthenia Street, when you could ride your bike on Saturday morning and hardly see a car, when CSUN was still SFVSC.  ////