Fourth in a series.
Re: “Josh Arnold Tells Us What the Norm Was”
Growing up in a laughter-filled Westside home where his television writer father regaled his children’s friends, new School District Supt. Josh Arnold, loves talking about his celebrity parent, Nick Arnold.
Dr. Joshua Arnold’s family was special, as you shortly will see.
The oldest of the three Arnold siblings treats his family history with exquisite love, with detail and a wonderful sense of seldom-seen preciousness.
“My dad was born in New Jersey, right outside of Newark, in Belleville,” his proud son said. “In retrospect, he had this kind of wannabe air of East Coast preppiness to him.”
Dr. Arnold’s portrait is the more heroic since Nick Arnold had cerebral palsy, which hardly impeded him.
“He is always in a blazer.
‘”He is always in a tie.”
The family did not escape the look.
“We wore adapted clothing that had Velcro instead of buttons because he can’t button,” Dr. Arnold said.
“His mother, my grandmother, would custom-make – this is what happens when you have C.P. You figure it out – and my mom would do tie every morning.
“He was preppy, right?
“Boat shoes. No sox. Things like that.
“Knew all of the East Coast prep schools when I had no idea of where to go. We are watching movies about Lawrenceville and Exeter and all these places that are outside of the zone of Beverly Hills public schools.”
Dr. Arnold spoke of his home, its traditional values and its unique values with extraordinary tenderness and affection.
“There was a value about school,” he said, “particularly academics, but school overall.”
An inquiring reporter wanted to know if the values were transmitted overtly or covertly.
“Absolutely – there was nothing covert about it,” Nick Arnold’s elder son said. “A hundred percent overt.”
(To be continued)
