Beachnut - the condensed history

While I was very young (ages 1-6), our family live in Redondo Beach in So. Cal. I loved the beach and still have very fond memories of going their and just watching the people. Even then (the mid 1950's), there were some pretty strange people who hung out at the beach. Many people actually lived on the beach. Back then we didn't call them homeless (the beach was their home...)we called them beach combers. I'm sure this was because they would walk up and down the beach combing through garbage cans or disgarded piles of junk looking for treasures. There was this one old guy who had an an old fashioned full bodied striped swimming suit. Even back then he looked pretty funnny to a five year old. Well my friend John Meier and I used to call him the beach nut (I can't explain why...just think 5 years old, maybe it will make sense to you). Anyway one night I was spending the night at the Meiers and I had no pajamas so John let me borrow his. He took an old pair of very brightly striped pajama bottoms from his dad's dresser drawer and pulled them on and the went all the way up to his neck. He placed his arms and hands in the legs and pushed out as far as he could and said "look I'm a beach nut"! Sure enough, he looked like one to me....so Annie, there you have it.