Fifth Grade in El Paso Texas, going to Stanton Elementary. At this time Texas has the best school system in the United States. Our Science teacher is an ex-Vietnam vet, who went back to college to teach. He had come back because of his purple heart and this is the first time I get first hand knowledge of what the war was really like, and not what it was portrayed on the nightly news. I don’t even remember his name, but he would tell us stories about some things that went on. One of the kids had found out that he had been wounded and asked him about it. He told us you could walk into a village, in the south and not know if they were friendlies or not, while you were there they were pro American, and when the Vietcong were there they were pro Vietcong, they didn’t care they just wanted to be left alone. His unit entered a village, and like usual they would try to help the people and give candy to the kids. He had turned his back and was talking to someone one when a five year old boy came out of the hut and stabbed him in the kidney with a knife.
I also got my first taste of authority I was made a crossing guard/hall monitor, wearing the orange sash and badge (lol). I learned this year how good I was at math, in class while doing base numbers (ugh, I know for those that don’t like math), I discovered a short cut that would work on all but base 6 (I believe, I can’t remember it anymore, to much has happened between then and now, lol). I remember sitting on the edge of the seat praying with the world that the Apollo 13 Astronauts would make it home safe (and now I live near Mr. Lovell here in Houston and Mission Control as a matter of fact is a couple miles up the road). Interesting side note, that is not of this year but Commander Lovell was the pilot of Gemini 7, which had the first space docking with Gemini 6 and I have a picture of Gemini 7 through the window of Gemini 6 (original). NyahNyah, explain in future blog how I got it, around mmmm, 2003. Anyway, back to this year, I turned 11 and remember watching the nightly news on the Vietnam War, the protests at the Universities and the race riots all over the US. Most of the movies listed I have seen this year, we are living off base. Dad bought a house on Tetons Avenue, and the fun thing was walking to the corner 7-11. At this stage in my life, I thought that the four places we have lived were all over the City, I would not find out until 2001 how close all these places really were, like three were within 10 blocks of each other (my father-in-law brought back a map of El Paso at my request so I could show the kids where I lived). Dad had bought a Studebaker for 50 dollars that he was going to fix up, and he had a white Chevy Impala. It is at this house I came to hate yard work, since it was my job to mow the lawn for my allowance. Problem is that during the summer, when it is hot and dry, the lawnmower doesn't mow the lawn but kicks up a lot of dust, and it would get in my nose and mouth (even with a handkerchief tied over my face) in my eyes etc. I got my butt chewed out about taking my bike down in the concrete drainage ditches. Kids had been killed in them due to flash floods, it would rain on the Davis mountains and be perfectly sunny in the City. Dad and Mom are bowling nuts, Dad was a good bowler, and I got my first taste of bowling and signed up for the youth league and bowled every Saturday (and of course I got the bug). The music I also remember and a lot of it became and still is my favorite. I do remember it being hot during the summer, but next summer it will get hotter. I am taking swimming lessons and am called a “minnow”, lol, and progress through shark by the end of the year. I play baseball but the only thing I actually remember is the coach chewing some of us out because we kept going swimming on game days. I remember going to White Sands Missile Range and cutting down our Christmas tree for this Christmas.
MUSIC:
Another busy year for songs, one time wonders and music in general. Songs to come out: Snowbird (Anne Murray), Jingle, Jangle (The Archie’s), Son of a Preacher Man (Aretha Franklin), Up on Cripple Creek (The Band), The Thrills is Gone (BB King), Let It Be and The Long and Winding Road (The Beatles), Lonely Days (The Bee Gees), Paranoid (Black Sabbath), Hi-De-Ho (Blood, Sweat and Tears), Ride Captain, Ride (Blues Image), It Don’t Matter to Me and Make it With You (Bread), Gypsy Woman (Brian Hyland), We’ve Only Just Begun and Close To You (The Carpenters – Karen was a fox and died way to young), Looking Out My Back Door and Up Around The Bend (CCR), Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? And 25 or 6 to 4 (Chicago), Ohio, Our House, Teach Your Children and Woodstock (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young), Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (Dianna Ross), I’ll Never Fall In Love Again (Dionne Warwick-haven’t we all said this many many times? Lol), Hey There Lonely Girl (Eddie Holman), Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes (Edison Lighthouse), Spill The Wine (Eric Burden & War), After Midnight (Eric Clapton), One Less Bell To Answer (The Fifth Dimension), All Right Now (Free), House Of The Rising Sun (Frijid Pink),My Sweet Lord (George Harrison), Honey Comeback (Glen Campbell), If You Could Read My Mind (Gordon Lightfoot), American Woman, Hand Me Down World and No Time (The Guess Who), ABC (The Jackson 5), Fire and Rain (James Taylor), She Came In Through The Bathroom Window (Joe Cocker), Instant Karma (John Lennon), Steal Away (Johnnie Taylor), Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell), Lola (The Kinks), Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin), Question (The Moody Blues), Mississippi Queen (Mountain), In The Summertime (Mungo Jerry), Cracklin’ Rosie and He ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (Neil Diamond), Mr. Bojangles (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), Spirit In The Sky (Norman Greenbaum), I Think I Love You (The Partridge Family), Leaving on A Jet Plane (Peter, Paul and Mary), Take A Letter Maria (R. B. Greaves), Born To Wander and Get Ready (Rare Earth),For The Good Times (Ray Price), Do the Funky Chicken (Rufus Thomas), Black Magic Woman (Santana), Bridge Over Troubled Water and Cecilia (Simon and Garfunkel), Tears Of A Clown (Smokey Robinson and the Miracles), Love The One Your With (Stephen Stills), Green Eyed Lady (Sugarloaf), Celebrate (Three Dog Night), Candida (Tony Orlando and Dawn), Domino and Moondance (Van Morrison) and Summertime Blues (The Who – though Blue Cheer did a dynamite version in 1968).
The Albums of 1970: Lit It Be (The Beatles), Black Sabbath and Paranoid (Black Sabbath – Ozzy Rocks), Close To You (The Carpenters), Morrison Motel (The Doors), Closer To Home (Grand Funk Railroad), Workingman Dead (The Grateful Dead), American Woman (The Guess Who), ABD (The Jackson 5), Rides Again (The James Gang), Led Zeppelin III (Led Zeppelin), Atom, Heart, Mother (Pink Floyd), Abraxas (Santana), Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkel) and Moondance (Van Morrison).
And the events, a sad year for us rockers. The Beatles officially break up with Paul suing them in court, though John had actually left the year before. Other breakups are The Dave Clark 5, The Monkees and Simon & Garfunkel. Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 premieres. Rock fans mourn the passing of two legendary greats Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.
MOVIES:
The movies of the year and ones I remember are Airport (Burt Lancaster, Jacqueline Bassett, George Kennedy, Helen Hayes and Dean Martin – Cuz), The Aristocats, Beneath The Planet Of The Apes (Charelton Heston, Kim Hunter), Catch 22 (Alan Arkin), CC and Company (Joe Namath – without pantyhose), Chisum (John Wayne), Colossus: The Forbin Project (Eric Braeden – the book by CF Jones was excellent), Horton Hears A Who, Kelly’s Heroes (Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Dion Rickles, Donald Southerland [Bad Vibes], Carroll O’Connor and Gavin McLeod – one of my favorites movies), Let It Be (The Beatles), Love Story (Ali McGraw and the preppie Ryan O’Neal), M*A*S*H (Donald Southerland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Gary “Radar” Berghof and Rene Auberjonois), Patton (George C. Scott [the General],Karl Malden), Scrooge (Albert Finney), Start the Revolution Without Me (Gene Wilder, Donald Sutherland), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (Kurt “Dexter” Russell, Cesar Romero), The Owl and The Pussycat (Barbara Streisand, George Segal), The Call Me Mr. Tibbs (Sidney Poitier, Martin Landau, Ed Asner), Tora! Tora! Tora! (Jason Robards), Tribes (Darren McGavin, Jan-Michael Vincent, Earl Holliman), and Two Mules For Sister Sara (Clint Eastwood, Shirley MacLaine).
EVENTS:
Memorable events of the year are 4 students killed by National Guard Troops at Ohio State University Protest (spawns the song by CSNY), the voting age is lowered from 21 to 18, the Concorde makes its first supersonic flight at 700 mph, Apollo 13 is launched and the famous word “Houston We Have A problem” from Lovell is uttered, they return safely 3 days later. Race riots abound all of the states still. Hurricane Celia is the most expensive Gulf Coast Damage recorded, PLO hijacks 4 planes, and Anwar Sadat becomes the President of Egypt. 142 die at a French Discothèque when fire breaks out and all exits are padlocked. Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans kicks a record 63 yard field goal.
Pope Paul VI is wounded by a knife wielding Bolivian Painter in the Philippines. South Korean Ferry capsizes killing 308 and the first successful craft lands on Venus launched by the USSR.
CARTOONS:
Saturday morning cartoons see the debut of Motor Mouse, Woody Woodpecker, Sabrina and the Groovy Goolies, Lancelot Link Secret Chimp, The Bugaloos, Dr. Doolittle, the Harlem Globetrotters and Josie & the Pussycats (meow, hot for a cartoon lol). Doonesbury by Gary Trudeau makes it’s debut in the papers, my favorite is of course Zonker Harris, a little bit of me and what will become friends when I play football, we all were a lot like that.
TV Shows that came into existence this year were All My Children, Monday Night Football (Browns 31 Jets 21) and The Odd Couple. Oh Yeah, how can I forget everyone’s favorite girl Laura Petry now has her own show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Red Skelton Show and Chet Huntley go off the air.
