2 Cruising

Chapter 2 Cruising When George was fifteen, his family moved from Ramona Avenue to a walnut ranch on the outskirts of Modesto. There was plenty of room for George to pursue his new passions. The first was music. When school was over, rather than doing his homework, George locked himself in his room, listening to rock and roll, drinking Coca-Cola, and eating Hershey bars.

George's father bought him a 35-millimeter camera and helped him convert the family's spare bathroom into a darkroom to develop pictures. Whenever George heard a crop plane flying overhead, he ran outside to take pictures of it. THE BIRTH OF ROCK AND ROLL ROCK AND ROLL WAS BORN OUT OF THE TRADITIONS OF COUNTRY MUSIC, RHYTHM AND BLUES, AND GOSPEL MUSIC. AFTER WORLD WAR II, WITH THE GROWING AVAILABILITY AND MASS

PRODUCTION OF RECORD PLAYERS, ELECTRIC GUITARS, AND TRANSISTOR RADIOS, SONGS LIKE "ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK" BY BILL HALEY AND THE COMETS, "THAT'S ALL RIGHT" BY ELVIS PRESLEY, AND "MAYBELLENE" BY CHUCK BERRY GAINED POPULARITY. THE ROCK-AND-ROLL SOUND HAD A DRIVING BEAT AND A FAST TEMPO THAT KIDS LOVED AND PARENTS HATED. MORE THAN JUST A STYLE OF MUSIC, ROCK AND ROLL BECAME A LOOK AND AN ATTITUDE, INFLUENCING FASHION AND LANGUAGE. IT WAS EXCITING, REBELLIOUS, AND WILD

When he was fourteen, George became fascinated with motorcycles. A year later, his focus shifted to cars. He was still too young to have a license, but he often drove around the ranch for fun. He hung out in auto repair shops, looking under the hoods of cars. At sixteen, George failed his driver's test because he didn't follow the rules of the road. He eventually got his license, but he still wasn't good at following the rules. George Sr. also got George his own

car, a Fiat. It wasn't the kind of car George had in mind. "It had a sewing machine motor in it," he said. "It was a dumb little car. What could I do with that? It was practically a motor scooter." George made plans to turn the Fiat into a racing car. George's parents were getting worried. His grades were terrible. He looked like a JD— juvenile delinquent. Nice boys in the late 1950s wore chinos and sweaters and cut their hair short. George grew his hair past his ears and slicked it back with Vaseline. He wore dirty jeans and white T-shirts. George was becoming a greaser (so named for all the grease they wore in their hair). George and his friends drove up and down the streets of Modesto looking for girls and listening to rock and roll. George's favorite radio DJ was Wolfman Jack, the outlaw of the airwaves, who broadcast late at night from a Mexican radio station. No one knew the real identity of the Wolfman, but George came to think of him as a friend.

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