Penney's Beach

The culture of Newport was fitting for Flo– not quite the hippie crowd of Berkeley, but casual and free-spirited nonetheless and with gorgeous ocean views always steps away. There was a culture of conservatism regarding sexuality and race that had entered the city via the rest of Orange County, but the beachside hippie scene, which Flo established herself in immediately, wasn’t going to let that keep them down.     Looking a little scraggly when she arrived in town, she got a job washing dishes in a bar. It lasted for two days until the barmaid quit for another job and Flo got promoted.    Flo was 5’2”, 102 pounds with soft curves, strawberry to dishwater blonde, hair tied back in her signature high ponytail with a beaded clasp. She needed something better for the job than her loose hippie clothes, which didn’t accentuate her features. As they say in the boating world, “A little paint and varnish, she’ll look real good.” And she did.   Then Ted Hayde, the bar owner, bought her a new server’s outfit after he asked her to be the waitress. Ted took a fatherly liking to her—liking her spirit and the way she commanded a room. He advanced her a little money, saying, “Pass it on to someone who may need it.”   Her naturally buoyant energy returned quickly, as if Ted’s kindness had breathed new life into her. That lively feeling multiplied as she bonded with the regular patrons of the bar, including the members of a club called the Niners. She developed a quick rapport with them, sometimes teasing and saying “If you can’t decide what to drink, I’ll decide for you,” or “I have to keep moving—there’s only eleven hours before closing.”     The Niners were the remnants of a service club that had required members to resign when they were 29 or older. The club did fundraisers, held social events, and provided a great way for members to connect with interesting people in Newport. So naturally, once they hit their cutoff dates they created their own group that met every Tuesday, landing at Flo’s bar as their meeting place.   They were drawn to the bar by the tunes that flowed out the door and into the street, most of which were classic rock and roll. Music was important to many of them, with Elvis’ songs weaved into the memories of many years of their lives. To honor him, the group adopted the ritual of referring to each other by the first letter of their first name, one member for each letter of the alphabet, excluding E.    The original club tried to get a wide variety of business professions represented, prioritizing those that were in the most profitable industries. The Niners, though, expanded beyond the status quo to provide a more well-rounded and diverse flavor, including historians, teachers, philosophers, contractors, and more.  Unexpected in the expansion of the “good old boys’” club was the admission of two women. Flo recommended the idea and later pushed them into it. Soon M and T, Mandy and Theresa, had officially joined the group.     The Niners helped Flo learn the culture of Newport, and she was slowly learning how different southern California folks were from those in the Bay area and her small hometown. The beaches and peninsula attracted a mixture of old guard Pasadena folks, tourists in search of John Wayne’s home, yachting people, and regular folks who had fortunately bought homes in the 1950’s for about the same price as Garden Grove homes. Some home buyers preferred Garden Grove and other towns away from the coastline for fear that a tidal wave would come and wipe them out, even if the home was up on an adjoining bluff.      In Newport, Flo caught the eye of many men. Dating, however, was the farthest thing from her mind.  One reason she didn’t date, aside from being pregnant, was that she was far too advanced for guys her age. She couldn’t talk openly about things she was passionate about to many people, as her thoughts would often drift to heavy questions like “How do you explain ‘manifestation?” So she kept all of her knowledge, as well as her questions, to herself.   She was often depressed during her pregnancy, spending hours a day watching TV on the small box set in the corner of her tiny apartment. Gunsmoke was a favorite. She was drawn to the cowboys in the black and white episodes, rooting for them as they ran down the bad guys and made the women swoon. She identified with Kitty because though her background might have been a little questionable, she always proved herself an upstanding citizen. If she was Kitty, then Ted was her Marshall Matt Dillon, her confidante and someone to look up to for guidance.    As a good hippie, she spent the rest of her free time studying metaphysics, astrology, crystals, numerology, meditation, health foods, aromatherapy and chakras. Though money was tight, she was able to keep her stress in check and knew that there was more to life than just what lay at the very surface.   She figured some more practical life skills couldn’t hurt, so she enrolled in accounting classes at Orange Coast College to help Ted keep up the books.   Flo didn’t care one way or the other for contemporary music. Being pregnant and aware that her child would absorb the surrounding vibrations, she played classical music for her baby-to-be while she meditated and visualized the birth. She decided on the Lamaze method, confident in her relaxation and breathing abilities to guide her through a natural birth.  It was no surprise to Flo that her healthy baby girl was born on the lucky day of July 7, 1977 —7/7/77. She was reminded of the lucky pennies she and her friends once kept in their penny loafers, so she decided to name her hazel-eyed baby Penney. Her lucky Penney, she thought, as she held her baby for the first time.