This episode is the first Riverside Profile show with my new "old friend" Scott Lanier. Scott is also the first "used-to-live-in-Riversider" to be on the show (he now lives in Temecula). We sat down at Panera Cafe at the "new" Riverside Plaza and got into some serious reminiscing about the "Cowboy Streets" neighborhood (the second phase of the Sun Gold development between Arlington and Central Avenues to the west of Victoria) where we both spent our childhood years (Scott was about 7 or 8 years ahead of me). I hear my parents and their friends in our voices...the talk of how much smaller the town was "back then" and the common experiences of things that kids no longer do (like paper routes).

I didn't know Scott back then but we finally did meet a couple of years ago through the Facebook group, "We Grew Up in Riverside in the 50s and 60s." This was one of the first Riverside-oriented groups on Facebook and my participation was very much the inspiration behind Hey Riverside and the profile podcasts in particular. The moderators work to keep it interesting and we meet regularly for lunches at several favorite Riverside eateries. I'm the youngster in the group and it's still cool to hang with the big kids. I plan to talk to a lot of friends from the group as they all have so many great stories about Riverside.

Even if you didn't grow up in the Victoria neighborhood, we discuss a lot of great Riverside names and references that are sure to paint some mind pictures while you're listening. Enjoy!

- Ralph from Riverside