Interviewer: Los Angeles has changed. But he still loves it.

Mr. Chapralis: Los Angeles has changed. It was very family-oriented. Maybe . . . people lived in an apartment building. People . . . where I lived, I lived close to Glendale, and it was still “Mr. and Mrs. Gary”, “Mr. and Mrs. Simms.” They watched out for us. People were very friendly. They took, they would take you under their wing. It was . . . it changed, and for a time, it was kind of sad, because there was a lot of white flight, people were moving out, and the Staples Center changed. Not so much where my mother’s house, and my dad’s house, but it just became more congested. But I enjoyed, there was a reservoir nearby, I could walk there. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle. And . . . but I think now, it’s getting better. The tall buildings. It’s not depressed. South Central LA was a very nice area at one time, and then it got depressed. Then now, it’s picking up again. We didn’t have the racial tensions that, that we experienced later on. Excuse me. I . . . to me, it was a big city, and it was my city.

Interviewer: Is it still?

Mr. Chapralis: I don’t live close to Los Angeles, I live in the suburb. I live in La Habra. But when I went away in the military, I enjoyed coming back. I identified with it as my city. And I . . . I was able to get a job as I got older, I worked at Broadway department stores, I was the office boy. I found interacting with people helped me learn the language more. Just talking with people, conversing with older people, different people in the job situation. It’s still my city. I love Los Angeles.

Interviewer: How do you describe Los Angeles in one word or phrase?

Mr. Chapralis: Big, beautiful teddy bear.

Interviewer: Teddy bear? Okay. Can you, can you describe...

Mr. Chapralis: It’s just . . . you know, a teddy bear may be . . . you know, it has its little, you know, button and it’s not smooth. But you want to embrace it, you want to hug it. It’s . . . maybe it’s worn and it’s not that cared for. But it’s still my teddy bear. I mean, I would embrace it. And . . . you know, a big teddy bear, uh, that you cuddle in. And it’s . . . you know. And it’s not going to hurt you. To me, I would go to church, I went to Greek school, at . . . also at church, I was very comfortable in Los Angeles. There was no crime rate at that time. And the areas that I traveled, I was never faced with any, uh, any problems that I had to be concerned for my safety. I would think, a great big teddy bear. I mean, a big bear.

Interviewer: A big bear.

Mr. Chapralis: Big bear that I, you know, you can have, you can, protect you. If you, if you feel shy, you can put the bear in front of you, and... or maybe a grizzly bear, you know, sometimes. But always very affectionate and very comforting to me. I never thought before, of thinking, but I’m glad that this came up and you know, but I’ve . . . that’s what I really think of Los Angeles.