The Sea of Cortez — Now Available on Amazon!
Many of the stories in Absurd Adventures: A Memoir are connected to real places, photographs, and memories that continue to live beyond the pages of the book. This map is a visual companion to the journey. Explore the moments behind the stories.
This book is dedicated to my father, Lamberto Santos Calixto,
the greatest Scrabble player who ever lived.
CHAPTER 3: The Centerfold
1984 John Marshall High School Varsity Baseball Team
CHAPTER 6:
Santa Left Me a Tricycle
Look at the writing at the bottom.
CHAPTER 7:
Donna Summer and Irregular Underwear
CHAPTER 8:
The Soft Apple Mystery
CHAPTER 10:
The Greatest Scrabble Who Ever Lived
CHAPTER 11:
Blood at the Old Zoo
CHAPTER 13:
I Played Bingo With Mother Teresa
CHAPTER 15
Take Means Don't Swing
(I posted this story on the Echo Park History and Lost Angeles Groups on Facebook in 2024. I immediately got a response from a couple of people who played with Gonzalo, as well as one of the players who actually was in that Pirates team back in 1978. I reconnected with Gonzalo and we met at my restaurant that same year. Absurd. Thank you to Hamilton Furtz for enhancing that old photo.
CHAPTER 16:
The Old Man and the Book Report
CHAPTER 18:
I Sang at the Greek
These are actual pictures from
that graduation day in 1985.
CHAPTER 19:
Let's Groove at the Hollywood Star Lanes
CHAPTER 20:
Grandma was a Pothead
CHAPTER 21:
A Part of My DNA
Victor and I in 2010.
CHAPTER 23:
The Sweepstakes Winner
My mom leaving for America for the first time in 1974. To the left is my Lola Justa, my grandmother from my father's side. To the right is Lola Lucia, my grandmother from my mother's side. That's me in the middle.
CHAPTER 25:
A Cloud Seeker's Story
My siblings and cousin on the roof of our house in Binondo. I am the baby being carried. My mom and dad's wedding photo in 1955.
CHAPTER 30:
This is Not a Test!
CHAPTER 37:
Bono Owes Me an Apology
CHAPTER 38:
The Bullet Train to Mazatlan
CHAPTER 40:
Sensory Overload
CHAPTER 42:
The Sea of Cortez
CHAPTER 46:
Redemption at the Disneyland Hotel
CHAPTER 47:
The Earth Is a Taco
The real Adam and Terri (Teresa)