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axolotl9I know a bunch of people read Jon Carroll's column in the SF Chronicle. But if you haven't seen yesterday's column or today's, you might want to go read 'em because otherwise this entry isn't going to make a lick of sense.
See, I've been to that junkyard/art studio on Fifth Avenue Point. I remember the collection of old cars in various stages of restoration, and the tool calendars with women in various stages of undress. Most of all, I remember Bob Schultz and the wild parties he used to throw.
Some background - my father owned a 1940 Cadillac Fleetwood "60 Special" until I was about 10 years old. He was also a member of the Cadillac/La Salle Club, an organization for the owners of antique Caddies and La Salles (La Salle was a lower-priced Cadillac, but in the end GM decided that Buick would be their lower-level luxury brand and killed La Salle). Which is how he ended up meeting Bob Schultz.
Schultz threw himself a 39th birthday party at least 5 years running (I note that Carroll's column claims he is now admitting to 70 - that'd be about right to my recollections, which are around 30 years old). These parties featured free-flowing beer and possibly less legal substances (hey, it was a flaky arty East Bay place in the '70s - I may have been a kid but I was certainly aware of some stuff), and then, just before the cake, an anvil tossing contest.
Yep, anvil tossing. Small anvil, probably around 18-25 pounds. Somehow Schultz always won the contest - though the last year we went to his birthday party, the secret was revealed when the anvil cracked following his throw. The sneaky bastard (he said, with admiration) had made himself a hollow anvil which was externally identical to the other one, but probably only weighed about 10 pounds.
Despite the booze and the wackiness, Schultz's place was pretty kid friendly. Mainly because he also collected antique pedal cars, in addition to the antique cars. I remember pedaling around in a rusty red mock-1920s fire truck, ringing the bell like mad and grinning like a fool while somebody else's kid squirted water at people from the back (yep, it had a water tank and a functioning hand pump and hose - too much fun!).
The anvil story, though, pretty much sums up my memories of Bob Schultz. Well, that and he was the first adult I remember who dyed his hair odd colors (Kelly green for St. Patrick's day, for instance).
ANyway, just a hoot reading about him.
See, I've been to that junkyard/art studio on Fifth Avenue Point. I remember the collection of old cars in various stages of restoration, and the tool calendars with women in various stages of undress. Most of all, I remember Bob Schultz and the wild parties he used to throw.
Some background - my father owned a 1940 Cadillac Fleetwood "60 Special" until I was about 10 years old. He was also a member of the Cadillac/La Salle Club, an organization for the owners of antique Caddies and La Salles (La Salle was a lower-priced Cadillac, but in the end GM decided that Buick would be their lower-level luxury brand and killed La Salle). Which is how he ended up meeting Bob Schultz.
Schultz threw himself a 39th birthday party at least 5 years running (I note that Carroll's column claims he is now admitting to 70 - that'd be about right to my recollections, which are around 30 years old). These parties featured free-flowing beer and possibly less legal substances (hey, it was a flaky arty East Bay place in the '70s - I may have been a kid but I was certainly aware of some stuff), and then, just before the cake, an anvil tossing contest.
Yep, anvil tossing. Small anvil, probably around 18-25 pounds. Somehow Schultz always won the contest - though the last year we went to his birthday party, the secret was revealed when the anvil cracked following his throw. The sneaky bastard (he said, with admiration) had made himself a hollow anvil which was externally identical to the other one, but probably only weighed about 10 pounds.
Despite the booze and the wackiness, Schultz's place was pretty kid friendly. Mainly because he also collected antique pedal cars, in addition to the antique cars. I remember pedaling around in a rusty red mock-1920s fire truck, ringing the bell like mad and grinning like a fool while somebody else's kid squirted water at people from the back (yep, it had a water tank and a functioning hand pump and hose - too much fun!).
The anvil story, though, pretty much sums up my memories of Bob Schultz. Well, that and he was the first adult I remember who dyed his hair odd colors (Kelly green for St. Patrick's day, for instance).
ANyway, just a hoot reading about him.
