Farewell Mr. Brando

When i was a child i had the privilege of spending time on the Brando Estate. I ran around all over his property and the man actually liked this kid!

You see, a close friend who we considered family had come over from Mexico to stay with us for awhile and dad knew someone (his boss) who knew Brando, and he was in need of a babysitter/nannytype. Dad mentioned Eva who in turn did get the job. I remember those times and era. We would be driving down Sunset Blvd. to pick her up or drop her off. I would be sitting in the back next to the window enjoying the breeze, with my brother's am/fm/tv/shortwave radio listening to "Manix" (it wasn't a tv, just radio). We would drive right past the Cinerama Dome. It was close to being completed and had all this metal pipes enfolding it(scaffolding)and i used to imagine what it would finally look like cause of its strange shape.

I used to love those drives in the evening more than the day drives. The air was always crisp and hit me on my face and i loved it with all the bright lights and buildings and just the excitement that was in the air as we drove through Hollywood and into Beverly Hills.

Eva loved the 2 kids she babysat. All i know is one was a girl and one was a boy and they were older than me and i really didn't play with them for that reason. I always remembered pulling up to the front gate and today as i watched the news of Brando's passing, i saw that old gate once again. Memories flashed back and i started to remember the small details of my life and how it was briefly connected to the man. I remember liking him and but not his children. I would soon lose all memory of him and our drives to and from shortly after the Dome was completed and one night as we drove pass the big sign was now introducing its very first movie; Its a mad mad mad mad world. That could have been my story title of what was to come for me down the line! hehe

As i watched Nightline tonight, i knew they were gonna do a piece on him. It brought sadness to my heart to remember what he went through later in his life and now to its end. He was remarkable!

Anyway, i just wanted to walk down that road once again in my life before i close that chapter.
Eva eventually went home and that was that. Thanks for those memories Mr. Brando.
Thanks for your brief kindness Sir.