Read Online Strange Angel by George Pendle - Free Book Online

translated itself into cultural events, too. When a production of Shakespeare’s
Julius Caesar
was performed in Beachwood Canyon, a cast of 3,000 actors was enrolled to act as the opposing armies in front of a crowd of some 40,000.
    Sheltered from this tumult of hedonism and big business by Pasadena’s lofty detachment, Parsons began attending Washington Junior High School at age twelve. A lack of school records up to this point suggests that his early schooling might have come from a tutor or governess, a form of education still fairly common among wealthy families of the time and all the more likely in Parsons’ case since he seemed to suffer from a form of dyslexia. Throughout his life he would misspell words, and his handwriting in particular—the words usually printed in capitals rather than written in cursive—indicates a learning disorder. At the time dyslexia was not considered a legitimate complaint, and children who suffered from it were generally supposed to be backward or stupid. For anyone, let alone such an avid reader as Parsons, the variable grades that resulted from this learning disorder would have only fueled a dislike for establishment education.
    His mother’s pampering had made him a slightly plump child, and his solitary upbringing had led to his rejection by most other children. At Washington Junior High School, he was considered “effeminate” and was teased for having the politeness and manners of a rich “mummy’s boy.” The gaudy colors of his science fiction magazines also signaled him out for abuse; the playground was not the safest place to admit an interest in science. But he might have been spared the scorn of his peers had he not arrived so conspicuously on the first day of the school term in his grandfather’s limousine. Immaculately turned out in a grey wool blazer, knitted brown tie, and leather shoes, he spoke with an affected English accent, no doubt picked up from the servants in his home. He stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the rough and tumble of school life. He became known as a “sissy” and was relentlessly taunted for his fancy clothes, while his long hair was grabbed and tugged by the school bullies. “Unfortunate experiences with other children,” as he later referred to these incidents, led him to shy away from the crowd and devote himself to his books.
    Edward Forman was almost two years older than Parsons and also suffered from dyslexia, but there the similarity ended. Forman was tall and good-looking, street-smart and affable, and he had a distinct streak of rebelliousness running through him. In Parsons’ first year at the school, Forman was designated a monitor with the thankless task of summoning the pupils in from recess. One day a scuffle broke out on the playground. The students quickly formed a circle, shouting and yelling. Through the dust being kicked up, Forman could see someone getting a serious beating. He raced into the middle of the circle, pulled the bully off his victim, and with one well-aimed punch broke the assailant’s nose. The fight was over. The crowd dispersed. Forman looked down on the ground where the bloodied and dirty figure of Jack Parsons, his books splayed out around him, was sprawled. He helped him up. So began the closest friendship of Jack Parsons’ life.
    Unlike Parsons, Forman was not from a wealthy home. Only a few years before his family had been farmers in Missouri. They had moved to Pasadena in search of a better life, but upon their arrival they had found no houses for rent and the grand resort hotels far too expensive. Along with his parents and three older brothers, Ed was forced to camp in the Arroyo Seco until a residence could be found. Forman’s father found work as an electrical engineer and a house was eventually obtained. Even so, the family had to take in a boarder to help make ends meet. Forman “saw this rich boy whose grandfather gave him