Paul Bauer lived on Russett Street and Union Avenue in Portland. He was about 16 and inspired by Tex Rankin flying his WACO to the airport near the Columbia Slough.

So he built one in the basement of his dad's grocery store but he could not get it out of that space so he had to dismantle it. Sadly, it never flew.

Tex was my hero. He once gave me a ride in his WACO at the airstrip, taxiing down the runway and back. He even flew over our house.

Maybe he wanted to check out the neighborhood. He rented a house two blocks from us.

I wanted to be a pilot. Maybe Paul Bauer did too.

My brother Russell and I used to sit on the curb on Union Avenue and claim every other passing car as mine or his. It was thrilling to own a Pierce Arrow or a Cadillac or Locomobile.

Many years later I was visiting Portland. I was driving a Lincoln Continental or a Chrysler Imperial. I wonder if any little kids on the curb claimed it?

We loved the Rose City Pie Company, where cousin Howard worked; Russ and I thought Howard owned it.

We used to go there on Saturday nights, after the drivers were all back with pies they had left over. They let us gorge ourselves sick on banana cream and pumpkin and cherry pies.

Grrrrrrroan.