It is Time

To get rid of old papers and other clutter (which is hard for me,) I have begun transcribing everything into a typed record. To the best of my ability, I will stay faithful to what I first wrote, save for spelling and some odds-and-ends of grammar.

1969

Jul. 4. There is this thing called Woodstock happening in New York. Music and people and peace. I don’t think they will be playing the kind of music my mom or dad likes.

Jul. 16. Apollo 11 has blasted off, and I’m nervous. The Russian’s crashed into the moon either last month or early this month. I don’t want that to happen to us.

Jul. 20. Our astronauts have landed on the moon. While I have been nervous about this, I wonder how Uncle Orval feels now that they are there.

Jul. 21. Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon about 8 o’clock tonight. ‘Buzz’ Aldrin joined him. It was exciting, and as I get ready for bed, I can’t help but wonder if they’ll be able to get any sleep tonight because I doubt I will.

Jul. 25. Sen. Edward Kennedy, the youngest brother of JFK, drove his car into a pond. The body of a woman was found inside the vehicle when they pulled it from the water. Why would anyone leave another person to die like that?

Nov. 9. A bunch of Indians has taken over Alcatraz Island. I wonder if I know any of them. 

Dec. 17. Dad said that the Air Force’s Project Blue Book is closed. I don’t think I will ever know the truth about all this stuff. Maybe God will tell me after I’m dead.

1970

Jun. 13. The Pentagon Papers are being made public. As best I can understand, these are top-secret papers about the Vietnam war. I think it is wrong to tell government secrets.

1971

Jul. 5. Eighteen-year-olds can now vote. That only seems fair because they are also fighting in Vietnam. It will be another seven years before I can vote. Right now, I wouldn’t know what to vote for

1972

Mar. 22. The Senate has passed the equal rights amendment. I am confused because I thought everyone already had equal rights. There has to be more to this than I understand. Maybe one day.

May 15. A man shot and nearly killed presidential candidate George Wallace today. And while still alive, he is in bad shape. Wallace opposed desegregation and supported “Jim Crow” laws. So, I’m not sure if there is much loss there.

Jun. 9. A flash flood caused by a dam breaking in Rapid City, South Dakota, has killed 238 people. It sounds like no one warned them that the water was coming.

Sep. 6. Eleven Israel Athletes died today at Munich Olympics for nothing more than being Jewish. We watched the police talking with the terrorist on T.V. Guess talking to people bent on destroying others does not work.

Nov. 7. In a landslide, President Nixon has won to a second term. Neither of my parents is happy about it. I can’t see where any of it makes a hill of beans difference.

1973

Feb. 27. A bunch of Indians has taken over Wounded Knee in South Dakota. There was a massacre there in the late 1800s. They are shooting at law enforcement and white people. Maybe they want a second massacre to happen there.

Oct. 10. Vice President Spiro Agnew has resigned because he cheated on his taxes in 1967. He is to be replaced by Gerald Ford. Mom and Dad are giddy at the news.  

1974

Feb. 4. Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst was kidnapped today by a group calling themselves the Symbionese Liberation Army. They are an American terrorist group. As Mom said, “We’re going to hell in a handbasket.” I agree.

Mar. 4. The minimum wage has gone up to $2.00 an hour. That is a forty-cent increase. I can hardly wait for it to take effect and see it on my paycheck.

May 9. For months, all I’ve heard is how President Nixon did this bad thing or that bad thing. Well, today, impeachment hearings began against him. He is the second president to face this. Andrew Johnson was the first. 

Jul. 2. While helping me deliver papers because it was raining so hard, I learned that the speed limit is now 55 mph. It is supposed to help reduce the need for gas. I don’t see how, though.

Jul. 27. The House Judiciary Committee has voted to recommend the first article of impeachment against Nixon: obstruction of justice. It all has to do with Watergate and how Nixon orchestrated a break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters to bug the place.

Aug. 8. It is all over for Nixon as he has announced that he will resign tomorrow at noon. My folks are happy. I can’t see the difference between the two parties, but I do recognize the damage they’ve done to our country.

Aug. 9. Vice President Ford was sworn in as President today. I am not sure that is trustworthy. He was a part of the Warren Commission and the investigation into the Kennedy assassination. I have so many questions about all of that.

Sep. 8. Ford pardoned Nixon today. You can’t do this when the person hasn’t been charged or convicted. I knew he wasn’t to be trusted.

1976 

Jul. 4. America celebrated 200 years of Independence today. While I enjoyed the day, I am afraid it is all for not as this country is ripping itself up from the inside out.

Jul. 14. Four-thousand subway passengers had to be rescued during a blackout in New York City last night. One-thousand-six-hundred and-sixteen businesses ransacked, 550 police officers injured, and 4,500 looters arrested. People are so stupid and greedy.

Jul. 15. A school bus with 26 children and the driver disappeared in Chowchilla, Calif. Since I’m with the track team is in Millbrae, I had to call home and let my parents know that we were okay. I am not sure where Chowchilla is, but it doesn’t sound anything like Millbrae.

Nov. 7. Jimmy Carter is our newest President. It seems like there is hardly enough time to let the ink dry on official documents before we get another one.

1977

Aug. 8. Elvis Presley died today. Let me leave it at that.

May 31. Oil has begun flowing through the Trans Alaskan Oil Pipeline. President Carter wants to shut it down. 

Sep. 7. Torrijos-Carter Treaties was signed today. It is the beginning of giving away our control to Panama. I don’t think it’ll be long before we find Panama causing problems for us. Furthermore, I wonder what else our government will give away without the consent of the people.

1978

Apr. 1. The minimum wage has increased again, this time to $2.65 an hour. I find it funny because it happened on April Fools Day. What isn’t funny is how much both the feds and state take out of my paycheck every two weeks.

Jun. 12. David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam,” has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. This case has been confusing from the start. It is still unclear why he did what he did and what a ‘talking dog’ has to do with anything.

Jul. 25. We are a step closer to being our own gods. The first human conceived through in-vitro fertilization, a test-tube baby, was born in England today. I wonder what God thinks about this.

Aug. 26, A new Pope has been elected, Paul I. He is the third pope in my lifetime and the 264th historically.

Sep. 28. Pope Paul I has died. News reports list the official cause of death as a heart attack. After all, he was 80, and his ticker could have given out. It’s speculated that he was planning to release the second of three secrets given to the children of Fatima by the Virgin Mary and murdered. We’ll never know the truth.

Oct. 16. A second pope this year has been elected; Pope John Paul II. He’s the first non-Italian Pope since the 16th century. Let’s hope he survives the next 30 days.

Nov. 19. Nine hundred people were found dead today in Guyana at a place called Jonestown after drinking poisoned punch. Two days before, Representative Leo Ryan was shot and killed during a visit to the settlement. 

Dec. 13. The first minting of the Susan B. Anthony Dollar happened today. I have yet to see one other than in pictures. It is the first time that the mint has placed a woman on our currency.

1979

Aug. 27. Lord Mountbatten and three others were blown up and killed today. I saw this on the television while getting ready for my shift at the hospital. Dave and I speculated about what it might mean for the U.S. Armed Forces stationed in Brittain.

There is more to follow.