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Your Ultra Modern Living Hostess |
Providing party planning, decorating & entertainment
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All About Cherry Capri
Autobiography
Chapter 4) Come on Down and Meet Everybody: the Parakeet Family
The Parakeets were a bit bitter. Their father had passed away years ago and then to top it off as I mentioned earlier,
they had been passed over for a TV show. So after years of trying to make it in L.A., renting at the trailer park
became increasing difficult and they had to hit the road again just to survive. They were miles and miles away from L.A.
by the time they discovered I had stowed away in the luggage compartment.
Being that my mom and dad didn’t have a phone in the trailer, the Parakeets had no way of getting a hold of them.
So by the time I got to Phoenix, I sent them a post card alerting them of my whereabouts and how they could reach me
for the next week if they wanted me to come home.
I never heard back from them so I continued sending post cards letting them know where I was and how I was doing.
By the time I got to Albuquerque, I added a recipe for vegetarian chili I had at a roadside diner on the back of the
post card for mom to let her know I was thinking of her. By the time I got to Oklahoma,
I figured they must be pretty upset at me for leaving so I sent another postcard.
I just kept sending postcards wherever I went along with a recipe from the places we visited.
There were New Mexican Sopapillas, San Francisco Sour Dough, New Orleans Jambalaya, Idaho Mashed Potatoes,
New England Chowder, and so many more. These postcards and recipes eventually became the basis for the book
I'm working on called, “Cherry Capri’s Picture Postcard Cookbook.”
The Parakeet Family traveled throughout the country in a psychedelic painted Winnebago.
They were a pretty close family and I had a crush on the oldest son, Daniel Carradine who was a heartthrob and a half.
But I was closer in age to the middle son, Robbie who was a real angler. He was very business savvy and
I learned a lot from him about how to just put yourself out there professionally no matter what.
For a young teenager, he had more chutzpah and business sense then anyone I have ever met…
I heard he ended up on radio in Philly and I must look him up someday.
I was never an official member of the Parakeets, but I was an understudy for everyone else’s parts.
If one of the kids was sick or occasionally when they would stop speaking to each other for some reason or another,
I would step in and put on the plaid velvet jumpsuit and perform with them. Most of the time, I just sang from the wings.
And we must have sang those songs 5000 times; in smokey honky tonks and church fellowship halls.
“Point Me in the Direction of Phoenix, AZ” “I’ll Meet You 1/3 of the Way,” “Come On Get Silly”
And of course the big hit, “I Think I Like You.”
Although I never had any formal dance training, I learned the ropes from the Parakeets.
We all kept in great shape exercising with Jack LaLanne reruns on TV.
Ma Parakeet tried to keep us well educated, but that wasn’t always so easy on the road.
The Parakeet kids and I stayed one step ahead of the truant officer in every city we’d visit.
One of my favorite parts of being on the road was visiting all of the tourist landmarks along the way.
It was a virtual history lesson when we’d hit places like Route 66, the Dixie Highway, Pike’s Peak,
Wildwood - New Jersey, the Highway 127 Corridor, etc.
Ma Parakeet would always take us to the interpretative educational museums and exhibits so we could learn about
America’s past first hand. I especially like the silly landmarks: the tepee motels, the giant dinosaurs and
palaces made of corn cobs. Whenever we passed anything that was unusual or colorful, it got my vote for a ‘pit stop.’
It's where I grew to adore roadside culture.
Chapter 5) Hawaiian Eye
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