Well if you read 1965 you might have figured from the ending what one of my favorite shows was at this point in my life. Yep, ‘Batman’, with Adam West (the original), was at the top of the list, with my Batman Utility Belt I got for my birthday, cool. I had to beg my mom to take me to the Batman movie, it was so awesome, this was back when Batman NEVER used weapons of any kind like guns, bazookas, etc. Other favorite TV shows were ‘The Rat Patrol’, ‘Bewitched’, ‘The Green Hornet’ (God Bruce Lee was awesome, RIP), ‘Time Tunnel’, ‘That Girl’ (Marlo Thomas was a Fox!), ‘F-Troop’, ‘Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea’, ‘Star Trek’ (are you a Trekkie?) and who could forget ‘The Monkees’?
Sitting in front of the TV watching Saturday morning cartoons. Though ‘Underdog’ premiered in 1964, this is my earliest memory of him, Sweet Polly Purebred and Simon Bar Sinister (booo). Watching ‘Atom Ant’, ‘The Beatles Cartoon’, ‘Space Ghost’, ‘Secret Squirrel’, ‘The Jetsons’, ‘Tom and Jerry’, etc. And of course, everyone’s favorite, “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!”, always wish I had a dog like Snoopy, and OMG, his house was huge on the inside. Also the first airing of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” (You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch! lol).
One of the good songs, that returned to me later in my life, was a one hit wonder by Napolean XIV (who?, yeah that is what I said), "They're coming to take me away, Ha-Ha. I’m a believer, Monday, Monday, Wild Thing, Purple Haze, Bus Stop, Wipe Out (loved that song).
Movies included ‘The Green Berets’ (one of my all time Faves), ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ (Lee Van Cleef was a drinking buddy of my dads!), ‘Georgy Girl’, ‘Our Man Flint’. Another one of my favorite movies 'Fantastic Voyage' with Raquel Welch (OMG, do I really need to say anything else?) came out. This would bring me years later to the start of one of my all time favorite authors, Isaac Asimov.
At this time we were living on Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas. I learned many things that year, though I was only 7 and in 2nd grade. Met two girls that lived on base, I’ll remember always, Wendi and Bobbi, used to jump rope with them. Bobbi was one year older, and this was my first look at female anatomy, lol. Also learned on a hot day with no A/C (back then) you did not mess with your dog while he was eating (under the table). He bit my ear and had to go to the ER. Most memorable about this time is that if Child Protective Services of then were like they are today, mom would’ve ended up in jail and I would have been in a foster home. This is the first of my three trips to the ER this week. Next was cuts on my chin and the third was stitches on top of my head. The third time we entered the ER the nurse was already filling out the paperwork, lol. Let me be perfectly clear so there is no doubt, I was an accident prone – waiting to happen child and all my medical records and junk were of my own doing most of the time, and my friends the rest. My parents were great people, a little strict, but when I grew older I realized their wisdom.
My grandmother came down for Christmas, and we went to downtown El Paso to see the Tumbleweed Snowmen. Went to white sands to cut down our own Christmas tree, mom got sick of the “Silver Fake Tree’ we bought the year before. Same time that her cat had kittens in my old baby carriage (will explain why we had it in later blog in the 70’s). Seeing the star on the Davis Mountains. In the summer my Dad TDY’d to California for 2 weeks, me and mom got to go along, courtesy of the US Government, and got to see Disneyland and Knotsbury Farm through the same Courtesy. Also learned to swim by daring one of my dad’s drunk squad members to throw me in the pool, he did, in the deep end, and dad replied he’ll learn to swim soon enough, but he did jump into the pool and rescue me. Dad was an NCO on the test team for the Chaparral Missile (see default pics). Dad also use to play fast pitch softball, this was my Friday night lights, he played first base, and afterwards we would go to this little cantina just near the boarder. They had the best burritos I can remember. God I miss him, Rest in Peace. So you can see, my memory is starting to come together, just wait it gets really good. In the seventies I might just have to go month by month, lol. Oh yeah, side note, school tested my IQ and wanted to advance me at least one grade if not two, mom and dad against this.
