Pier Baby

I just became a grandfather! And that's an odd feeling, because in my mind I'm still that 23-year-old kid tending bar at the old Boathouse Restaurant on a Santa Monica Pier that was being rebuilt and yet-to-be reinvigorated.

The Pier of 1989 was nothing like today. There was literally no west end, it was still being rebuilt after the 1983 storm damage. No amusement park either; Pacific Park didn't open until 1996. Outside of summer, there was little vigor to the place.

But I fell in love with it anyway, with the people I worked with like Boathouse Bill, Cindy, and Val; the kitchen crew of Oscar, Miguel, and Chevo; and the regular characters like George, Bob, Jessie, Fhilly, Harry, Elaine Mac, and many others. They enlightened me as to what the Pier was all about. What it meant to people.

And it means a lot.

So while I try to grasp that I'm older now and a grandfather, I also know to cherish what the Pier is and what it means. Because I think you all know very well that I'm going to enjoy sharing all of that with our newest little Pier baby.