His dad was "an airy optimist with nimble skills." His mom was a crackerjack card player. Both came from old Europe with the great wave of Jewish immigrants in the early part of the 20th century, and both were jim-dandy storytellers.
Sid helped his parents at their neighborhood store in San Diego, California. This was during the Great Depression when no one had much money, but he found that for just a dime he could hang out all day at the traveling vaudeville show. There he met his first magician, a lady sharpshooter, and other amazing performers whose memories would one day be conjured for the Wild West boy-and-his-dog story, Jim Ugly.
