Aug 31 - Ghostly Sole Survivors**

Thursday, August 31, 1972 - 244
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

(2:00 AM 9/1/1972)
Goddup at around 11:00. Got all my dirty clothes (which are all my clothes) bagged to get washed. Got slightly more organized and am getting into filing af all my mags. They'll take a while. Chunk called, then came to pick me up. We played ice hockey until the Olympics on T.V., then played chess. We finished the game we started the other day -- I won. I beat him soundly at hockey, and we tied at chess.

Chunk has to get up at 4:00 in the A.M. so he went to bed at 11:00. Murray came over at 8:00 when the Olympics came on and he took lots of double exposures with his camera stationed in front of the set with a tripod. When Chunk went to bed he and I played a couple games of chess. He won them both (humiliating). -- Connie came in. She thought I was Chunk -- and she hit me under that assumption. Winnie came in shortly after her, but she didn't mistake me. She & Connie talked, and Murray & I left after the (3rd?) game.

He drove me home, and he and I watched T.V. A few minutes of D. Cavett, a few mins of J. Carson (with J. Bishop), and watched a couple hours of "Sole Survivor," a strange movie Murray & Chunk had seen the beginning of (the day B4 our Catalina trip [June 4 and 5]) and wanted to see the ending of. It ended at 1:30. He left. We have ants. It is now about 2:10. G'night. --

"Sole Survivor" (wikipedia info) originally aired as a 90-minute "ABC Movie of the Week" on January 9, 1970. As noted here, it was rerun twice in 1972. This was a compelling Twilight Zonish ghostly tale starring Vince Edwards, Richard Basehart, and William Shatner, loosely based on a true story involving a World War II bomber named "Lady Be Good" that crashed in the Libyan desert in 1943. The mysteriously well-preserved wreckage was discovered in 1958. This incident also inspired an episode of The Twilight Zone TV series entitled "King Nine Will Not Return."

[Side note] Got a letter from Sue.

TOMORROW: Ant wars

Aug 30 - Helping Lara & Mike on moving day

Wednesday, August 30, 1972 - Page 243
LOCATION: Anaheim; Newport Beach, California

(12:40 AM 8/31/1972)
Woke up when Mike got here at 10:30 A.M. We went to the U-Haul place to rent a trailer & dolly, then started moving. First load we got the fridge & piano -- second load we got the couch, desk & Laramée, at 4:30 when she got off work -- third load we got the bed and sewing machine -- fourth load we got the TV set & pool table & dropped me off (while we were taking the cats) -- we unloaded the TV & pool table & a few others -- by the time it was 11:00. That was today -- we all were tired. Good night. --- Today was in the 90's & clear. The storm didn't materialize. ---

My sister Laramée and her husband Michael Sarason

The nose pad on my glasses is missing. I haven't shaved since -- Wait a minute! Oops -- how'd that happen? Pardon me, I just noticed I'm writing this from 1:00 A.M., September 2nd. I was putting a few tags on my entry on that day (Sept 1), but some how I got the wrong page. I'm so shook, I'll just quit writing. Forget the addendums, I'm thru. ---

TOMORROW: Ghostly Sole Survivors

Aug 29 - A SoCal hurricane

Tuesday, August 29, 1972 - Page 242
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

(4:08:15 AM 8/30/1972)
Got up Tuesday at 4:00 P.M. Chunk came over today with his sprained ankle. He has a beard now. He beat me one game of chess, I started winning the second, and Winnie came to pick him up. Saw some of the Olympics. Read the Daily Comics I missed while I was gone. Unpacked my garbage and will get it organized soon.

Mike called -- he'll be coming tomorrow at 10:00 A.M. so I can help him move. It is now 4:30 AM. There is a hurricane nearby. It rained a bit today. It is hot, nevertheless. About 80 degrees right now, according to the radio. I'd better sleep. G'night.

TOMORROW: Helping Lara & Mike on moving day

Aug 28 - Disneyland for $4.95****

Monday, August 28, 1972 - Page 241

LOCATION: Anaheim; Newport Beach, California

Typical 1970s map of Disneyland. Previous maps had featured the Disneyland Hotel and its monorail station, but these were removed when Walt Disney Productions became disenchanted with the hotel's original owner, Wrather Corporation (wikipedia info).

(3:14:15 AM 8/30/1972)

Woke up around 10:00 A.M. Watched the "Disneyland Hotel Today" show on the T.V. until 11:00 or so. Went to the lobby to write a check and get five dollars so I could go to Disneyland. The check had Mom's name and address, and tho she and me share the same account, the hotel wouldn't cash it. She told me to go to a bank. I asked the girl at the parking lot entrance where the nearest bank was, and she told me it was on Harbor. I walked thru Disneyland's parking lot to get to Harbor, and walked to Katella. [This vast parking lot of yesteryear is now occupied by Disney California Adventure which opened on Feb 8, 2001]

The owner of the hotel, Texas oil millionaire Jack Wrather, died in 1984. Under CEO Michael Eisner, Walt Disney Productions bought the entire Wrather Corporation in 1989. Disney kept the hotel but sold Wrather's other assets which included the Queen Mary, the Spruce Goose, and the rights to the The Lone Ranger and Lassie TV series.

On Katella was the Ivanhoe, and since there was no bank in sight, I went to the Ivanhoe Motel, which will soon be managed by Laramée & Michael Sarason [my sister and brother-in-law]. Mike was at the hardware store, so I had to wait a few minutes for him to appear, and when he did I cashed the five dollar check. I walked back to the monorail debarkation area at the Disneyland Hotel and bought a 10-ticket book for $4.95, leaving me $3 that Mom had given me the night before.

A 15-Coupon Book from 1972 originally sold for $5.95. To see typical prices for attractions in the Summer of 1972, go here: ABCs of Disneyland Tickets

I took the monorail in, and stayed on it for a second ride which was illegal, but I thought it was justified since I got only half a ride, getting on at the hotel as I did. I wandered thru the new land that replaced the old "Indian Village" and I went to see the new "Country Bear Jamboree."

Country Bear Jamboree in the new Bear Country (now Critter Country). This Jamboree closed in 2001 to make room for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which opened on April 11, 2003.

I noticed many differences in the park since I was last there, which was 1 or 2 years ago. Before then, I had been there approximately, literally, 2 dozen times. Disneyland had been my hobby as a child. It was a pretty expensive hobby, and I eventually had to give it up, but I was the leading amateur authority on Disneyland for some time. Disneyland and I are about the same age [I was born on 7/17/1954, the precise day that Walt Disney officially broke ground to begin construction -- then Disneyland opened a year later on 7/17/1955].

This 4-minute silent film provides a great view of Disneyland as it was in 1972. You'll see the Skyway thru the Matterhorn that carried guests back-and-forth between Tomorrowland & Fantasyland.

The attraction was shutdown forever in November 1994 due to "technical problems." Or MAYBE it was because a guest "accidentally" fell from a gondola in April 1994, sustaining minor injuries from his 20-foot drop. So he sued Disney for $25,000, but later admitted he'd intentionally jumped from the ride. The lawsuit was dropped in 1996. Hey, dude, thanks for screwing it up for the rest of us!

I spent 4 1/2 hours there on Monday -- the day was hot and muggy, and I was wearing long underwear (the only clean underwear I had left) and I had to leave my jacket and cassette player in a locker but as I left, I forgot, so I had to sneak back in thru the gates to retrieve them.

Time was against me -- I left shortly after 4:30 (4:40, really) and I had to get to the Ivanhoe at 5:00 to get a ride from Mike. I made it there at 5:00, but he didn't leave until 5:30. He'd spent the day painting a room and I helped him clean up. We also carried some furniture into the storage room. He & Lara will be moving in permanently this week -- My timely arrival has precipitated my assistance in this endeavor. I don't think I used that word right. I don't care, I'm almost asleep.

Anyway, we drove to pick up Lara at work -- she thought I was Chunk [my older brother, Chuck] when she first saw me. That's odd. We all then drove to their house to pick up some stuff to take to the trailer. Then we drove to Eyesore Park [actually Bayshore Park, my home in Newport Beach]. Hadn't been there for SIXTY whole (or almost whole) days. Mike and I played badmitten for a while. We hit it back and forth 78 times without making a mistake. That's as far as we'd ever gotten. We all ate dinner since Mom, luckily, had made a roast. Yum yum. Hadn't eaten since dinner on the 737 yesterday (had a few snacks in Disneyland however).

The place looked different. There's a big color TV set instead of the old B&W one, the whole place has a carpet all over the floor, and the furniture is all rearranged. After dinner Mom had to leave to play bridge, Lara rinsed off the dishes and straightened the place out while Mike & I played badmitten in the dark. They eventually left at around ten.

NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: My daughter Elora became a Disneyland employee (cast member) in July 2008. She recommended me, so I applied and was hired in July 2009 as a Food Service Worker for the River Belle Terrace restaurant that straddles Frontierland & Adventureland. Mickey Mouse was my new boss, and he was the BEST EVER because he never spoke. It was the ultimate dream job -- I could go to DL (DisneyLand) or DCA (Disney California Adventure) for FREE whenever I wanted and I could go thru all those doors that say CAST MEMBERS ONLY. But I had to quit in March 2010 for full-time employment that would actually pay our bills.

TOMORROW: A SoCal hurricane

Aug 27 - Flying with a bomb on Western Airlines**

Sunday, August 27, 1972 - Page 240
LOCATION: Bethlehem; Rapid City; Salt Lake City; Los Angeles; Anaheim

(2:18:30 AM 8/30/1972)
BLECCH! I shan't use that blue felt pen again -- It soaked thru the page. Que sera, will be -- Sunday? What happened Sunday? Bruce woke up later than ever before, about nine, because he forgot to set his clock. He told me yesterday that he will be returning home [to Chicago] in the first week of September.

I got up for good around 11:00 -- Bruce was reading "The Merchants of Venus" in my "IF" magazine. Sr. Sylvester banged on the door. "Get up you sleepy boogers" she said. Bruce was wanted to entertain tourists in the Shrine. Yesterday he had to take some tourists into the lower cave, tho he'd never before done it and was qualified only for tours to the Shrine. Brad was already giving a tour and Jim was ill, so he was stuck with it. He improvised a lot. So now he's qualified and has to give tours.

I read a bit more of "I'm OK, You're OK," tried to call home again but failed, and talked with Fr. Henry, giving him my address so he can visit when he returns to California. He's trying to become a chaplain in the Navy, so will be in San Diego for awhile.

It became 1:30, and my flight left at 2:50, so I tried to find some transportation. I saw Bruce at the cave entrance with some tourists -- he'd finished one tour and was starting another. I told him I had to leave, so he quit what he was doing and eventually got around to driving me. We left in the van at 1:45. I was fairly sure I'd be late, but we weren't, tho it was pretty close. We got there at 2:30. Bought the ticket for $55 (Student Standby), but had trouble with the guy -- he wanted two forms of identification but I only had a Driver's License and Social Security card. He reluctantly accepted it, filled out a form, wrote the ticket, took my money and said the baggage had been taken out already so I had to carry it out myself. This was fortunate too, because my duffle bag weighed 80 lbs, and 70 lbs is the legal limit for single parcels. I packed the bomb in the Abbott's cabin that nobody belonged to -- It weighed 10 lbs by itself.

[I think I should explain that. The little 20-inch "bomb" was a World War II souvenir that nobody wanted so I adopted it as a cool curiosity. It didn't contain any explosive -- it was just a harmless paperweight -- but I wouldn't advise anyone to take something like this on an airline today.]

The World War II bomb I had in my
duffle bag looked something like this

I came back with more than I went with, tho I discarded a couple of things any way. I staggered to the 737, left the duffle bag for the packers, and found an empty seat in the back (the very last seat). I stared out the window all the time -- We flew over Mt. Rushmore and I was on the right side (the right) so I saw it clearly from the air. Such a thrill.

Got into Salt Lake City Int'l Airport at around 4:15 and had to wait. The flights to LA were filled, so standby didn't help much. They had no room for me on the first flight, but I just barely managed to get on the 6:30 flight -- If I'd missed it I'd have to wait till 11:00. I bought the new Analog while waiting.

Got into LA around 7:30 (note the 1-hour time difference) and saw it from the sky for the first time in the daytime glowing golden through the smog. Beauteous. Tried calling Mom, then Dad, then Chunk -- Nobody home. Called Laramée and she told me to take a bus -- She was too tired to pick me up. Tried calling Mom, Dad or Chunk a few more times -- Got the operator mad. Gave up and took a bus -- Closest I could get to N.B. was Orange Co. Airport.

Ticket cost $4.00. Bus stopped at Disneyland Hotel, and I decided to get off there tho I had a farther ticket -- No refunds. I had $16.00 left so I wandered around until I found the lobby (the bus stopped under the monorail where there are a bunch of lockers -- I put my 35¢ into the only locker that didn't work, but I left my bag in it any way figuring no one could steal an 80-pound duffle bag even if they wanted to).

I asked the fellow in the lobby if he had any rooms for one person one night. They had a "Crash Pad" for business men for $16. I took it. An old fellow drove me out to the room (1930). I tipped him 25¢ tho, as he pointed out, I had carried the 80 pound duffle bag -- he took the quarter anyway.

From my room (which had an air conditioner, B&W TV, shower & king size bed) I telephoned Mom. This was around nine o'clock. She decided to come by -- while waiting, I took a shower and watched one part of the special series on Da Vinci. Went out to meet her at 10:30 P.M. She drove home around 12:30, and called again at 1:00 A.M. I got to sleep around 2:00 after playing with my recorder.

TOMORROW: Disneyland for $4.95

Aug 26 - Preparing to hit the road again

Saturday, August 26, 1972 - Page 239

LOCATION: Bethlehem, South Dakota

11:30 AM

I finished Waterclap last night before going to sleep. Woke up today at 9:00 when Fr. Henry asked me & Dennis to sign a Bon Voyage card for the McKeevers. Dennis & I are always the last ones to get up. I went up to the house for some cold hot chocolate and peanut butter, talked with Joe a bit, and read an article about Nixon in McCall's. About 10:00 everyone gathered in the chapel to say goodby to Joe & Ed who left with the McKeevers (Mrs., Grandma, and Pat & Christi & Devon -- I don't know where Mr. was). He said he'd send me the Art books in a couple of days after he and his brother had hitched back home, in Kearny (That's pronounced "Carney"), Nebraska.

With the Mc's and Joe & Ed gone our population has dwindled quite a bit. Fr. Gil is still gone, Jim Farmer is sick so Brad alone is in charge of the cave, but even tho it's already 11:31 A.M., Saturday, there haven't been any tourists. I'll be doing some tentative packing. Whenever the mail gets here it'll pro'ly have my money in it, so I'll be leaving tomorrow almost certainly.

8:00 PM

I got everything packed, putting in more than I came with. The stuff just barely fit. I took a bath (shower, rather) because I was smelling like the wrong end of a sewer -- I had no clean clothes to wear. Slept from about 4 to 7. The only people here are M.R., Fr. H, Sr. S, Mary, Tom T, Brad, Bruce, Dennis, and Jim. That's an unusually low population. I got the money order today for $80. While I was on the phone with the airline, Mary slipped an 'I Love You' card into my back pocket. Nothing personal, just a nice gesture. I wrote the Italian equivalent [Ti Amo] in Old English and gave it to her. Nothing personal, just a nice gesture. [For more about the Shrine's "I Love You" cards, see January 12]

TOMORROW: Flying with a bomb on Western Airlines

Aug 25 - "Guess Who" concert in Rapid City***

Friday, August 25, 1972 - Page 238
LOCATION: Bethlehem & Rapid City, South Dakota

10:30 AM

Woke up at six when Bruce's alarm went off. The full moon was still glaring in a sky just beginning to turn blue. I waved at Bruce and went back to sleep. Woke up again at 7:00 when Tom woke me up to shake my hand and say good bye. I went back to sleep and Bruce woke me up at 9:00, left, and I went back to sleep. He woke me and Dennis up again at 10:00, and kept us up. Everyone is working now.

There are tourists outside, and the tape was finally changed on the Musac speakers that blare out for the tourists. For the past two days it's been "Quando Quardo," "A Room Without Windows, A Room Without Doors," "Me And My Shadow," and "Two For Tea." Now there's something like Bach in a Moog Synthesizer.

Today is town day. We'll all be going into the big city to see the "Guess Who" concert. Until then, s'long. --

The Guess Who - American Woman

(11:00 AM 8/26/1972)
A while after lunch, and after beating Bruce in a game of chess that we took up from Joe and Tom Tucker after it was 2/3's thru (and after beating Ed swiftly), Me, Bruce, Joe, Ed, Jim Farmer, Dennis, and Tom Tucker got in the van and drove to town. We had to stop in Piedmont to pick up a package for Dennis from his brother full of health food. We had some groceries to pick up, so we spent an hour or so in Safeway -- I took a roll of film to a nearby drugstore to get it developed.

We left there and drove downtown (we passed the P.O. so I checked in it to see if my letter had come -- They told me I had to go to the annex on Jackson Blvd). We stopped in a men's store and bought a sweater for Gil's birthday which is Monday (he's still gone, picking up Jamal in Canada). We then proceeded on to the fairgrounds where the concert would be -- Bruce and I gave the guys our $6 for the tickets, and drove back to town.

In a Standard station that gave credit to Bethlehem we got a tire fixed (the rear tire went flat while Tom drove down to the hiway. He was going to drive into Rapid, but the van's problems forced him to start hitching from Piedmont). Bruce had to drive back on the balled spare tire (that's "bald," I think). We got the tire fixed & put on, we went to the P.O. annex at 5:30 but it had closed at 5:00, then we went to a liquor store to buy Dennis his Burgundy wine.

We drove back to the fairgrounds, found Dennis, and Joe led us to everyone in the stands. That was around 6:00. There were 5 groups that I saw (there were others B4 I got there) -- Before The Guess Who were "Teen King & the Princes" who did facetious performances of '50s songs; "Archangel," a bizarre group who were more dramatic than musical; "Sail Cat," the band that recorded "Motorcycle Mama" (Sue bought the single of that song in Chicago), and just before the "Guess Who" was "Jo Jo Gunn" who made noise that everyone liked so much they had to do an encore.

Before & during the "G.W.," Jim returned to the van because he was sick, Bruce left because of a headache -- then Tom & Ed left too. After the "G.W." had done 4 or 5 songs, Dennis, Me, and Joe went back to the van. Bruce said he'd seen Sue and said we'd have to wait for her because she was going to follow us back to Beth.

Joe & I went back to the concert to find her -- She was up front near the band. She said she could find her way back to Beth by herself, so we went back to the van (thru the same hole in the gate we came in, illegally). We left at 12:15, got back at 1:30.

[Side note regarding this flyer]

The sheet attached hereto was handed out as we entered the main gate at the concert.

The Guess Who - No Time

TOMORROW: Preparing to hit the road again

Aug 24 - Not minding Lawrence of Arabia**

Thursday, August 24, 1972 - Page 237
LOCATION: Bethlehem, South Dakota

10:30 AM [continued from previous entry]
was read (Bruce is a big Bradbury fan and he said the story was like "Fahrenheit 451"). Yesterday (Wednesday) was a very good day. Fr. Gil left last night at 10:00 P.M. to drive to the Canadian border to pick up a defector from Jerusalem who's at the border. So he'll be gone when I leave. I found out the "committee" is made up of Brad, Mary, M.R., and Gil. [It was this esteemed "committee" that decided I didn't belong at Bethlehem. I agreed with them: it was time to move on.]

(10:30 AM 8/25/1972)
Thursday I wrote Soozwol a letter and put it in the package with the peace symbol pendant I made. I worked on an alabaster ring for myself and was almost through with it when I put it under water to see what color it would be. As I was drying it it broke into four pieces. I've given up working on alabaster for the time being, but I'm bringing home a couple of chunks with me.

Took a much needed shower. Watched T.V. (The Julie Andrews Special) among the other Tom [that's Tom Scheuring not Hildebrand], Mary, Joe, Jim and Ed. Ed was lighting [wood] matches, so I thought I'd do the Lawrence of Arabia stunt -- letting the match burn down to your fingers until it goes out and acting as if it didn't hurt.

[There is a scene early in the movie in which Lawrence demonstrates this in front of fellow soldiers -- one of them tries to do it but shouts and drops the match saying, "Ohh! It damn well hurts! What's the trick then?" Lawrence replies, "The trick is not minding that it hurts." This attitude is put to the ultimate test when our hero becomes a prisoner of the Turks and is brutally tortured. Try not minding that, Lawrence.]

The "match trick" scene from Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Everyone was properly astounded so I had to do it several times. Now, of course, I have blisters on my thumb & index finger.

[After the second or third time the heated skin became thick and numb so the flame didn't hurt at all anymore. There's the "trick." But the blisters eventually turned into little circular scorched patches that looked like black plastic. This took a long time to go away as I mention in the days that follow, finally reporting that the blisters were mostly healed on October 2, 1972.]

Got to sleep at about 12:30. Began the last story in the last anthology -- Asimov's "Waterclap" (about an unclean porpoise, I told Joe).

(11:35 PM 8/26/1972)
By the way, as Tom S. was packing I noticed some pictures Tom H. had taken. Tom S. let me have the ones I wanted and they are on PAGES 116 & 117 [April 25 & April 26] or they will be when I put them in.

2012 French PROMETHEUS Trailer -- A disturbing fascination with Lawrence of Arabia

TOMORROW: "Guess Who" concert in Rapid City

Aug 23 - All about the PEACE Symbol**

Wednesday, August 23, 1972 - Page 236

LOCATION: Bethlehem, South Dakota

Here is the inspiration for the British designer, Gerald Holtom,
who created the Peace Symbol: The Third of May 1808,
an 1814 oil painting by Spanish artist Francisco Goya

(10:30 AM 8/24/1972)
Got up at 9:30, about. Did some work today -- Tom & I loaded the cement blocks into the van, then he, me, Bruce & Joe drove down to the sewer to carry the blocks to the odoriferous tanks and place them on top. Each block weighed a hundred pounds, so we took our time. By the way, yesterday while sawing away on my alabaster, two guys from Pittsburgh showed up. I talked with them an hour or so. I also bought a gold chain from the Gift Shop.

Now -- back to Wednesday. We really had fun working, and we finished by lunch time. I continued work on my [alabaster] chain, broke it, gave up, and started working on the peace symbol pendant Sue wanted (she wanted to buy one of the wooden ones sold in the gift shop, but they're all gone so I made one out of alabaster).

The first Peace Symbol lapel badge (ceramic, 1958)
made for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

The internationally recognized Peace Symbol was designed by artist Gerald Holtom in 1958. It is a combination of the semaphore signals for N and D, standing for Nuclear Disarmament.

Semaphore symbol for letter N

Semaphore symbol for letter D

Here, Holtom explains how he first got the idea for this logo.

"I was in despair. Deep despair. I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya's peasant before the firing squad. I formalised the drawing into a line and put a circle around it."

Hmm. As you can see in the painting at the top, the peasant's hands actually appear up, not downward (No problem. Artistic license can never be revoked.)

It's all finished -- on the back it says "Sue Latka -- U.S. Grade A Gov't Inspected." [That's a joke based on my name, "Grady"]. Everyone was impressed at how well it came out. Bruce finished his cross, but broke a piece off the bottom while sanding it.

After dinner, Bruce & I went to the rock shop in the entrance bldg to get some emery cloth (we had to break into it through the window because it was locked) -- in the rock shop, collected by Jim Jorgenson, is a fantastic collection -- I drooled over the fossils, and Bruce had to pull me away. There were fantastic ammonites, nautiloids, shark's teeth, mammal teeth, coral, crinoid stems, snail shells, arrowheads and stone tools, agates and crystals.

There was a flood control meeting tonight in the Reception Center and lots of people showed up. Bruce, me & Joe got talking, and our discussion became very intellectually stimulating. Joe (Ed's brother) is very bright. He saw my artwork and is going to send me the books of the Famous Artists course. Far out. In the process of our discussion, lasting till 1:00 A.M., my story "The Typewriter" [end of page: continued in next entry]

TOMORROW: Not minding Lawrence of Arabia

Aug 22 - Publicity campaign for McKeever VIPs

Tuesday, August 22, 1972 - Page 235
LOCATION: Bethlehem, South Dakota

11:30 AM [continued from previous entry]
Also yesterday, I got a letter from Greg Langevin. He was the guy who stayed at Bruce's house before I called, and he left here for the same reason I was asked to leave -- he's not a devout hypocrite. I woke up today at 11:00 (it's now 11:36). No work today for most of us (hark -- I hear the cement mixer mixing) -- because today is Town Day, and many of us are in town, including Bruce who drove.

(10:30 AM 8/24/1972)
It turned out today wasn't town day, due to lack of interest. Several things occurred this day. I continued work on my alabaster chain, obtaining more useful tools from the shop in the retreat house. John Bauer showed up today because his grandparents were going thru the cave. He was here an hour or so. He's going into the Navy and will be getting married soon. Tom Scheuring and I did a little more removing of the concrete pile.

For the past few days me & Bruce have been entertaining the McKeever kids, Pat Jr., Christi, and Devon (4, 3, 1) [Pat McKeever Sr. was a prominent politician]. The McKeevers are going to leave soon, so part of the day was consumed with two photographers taking publicity shots (Five McKeevers walking hand in hand down the wooded lane).

Tuesday was another big tourist day. Also a few people came to the retreat house to stay over night. Me, Bruce, Jim & Ed played poker for awhile -- I did all the winning. Bruce & I left, and stopped in the retreat house where Jim, Jane (the McKeever's babysitter) and Sr. Sylvester were gathered. Later that night I played two games of chess with Sue Nemeth, and then she (she is a campaigner for the Mc's), me, Jane, and Dennis played scrabble until 12:30 when Gil came in to break it up and tell us to go to bed. -- I wrote a letter to Greg.

TOMORROW: All about the PEACE symbol

Aug 21 - Holoexinoninframetasuperquasiomnidehyperirreantipreundounscrabble

Monday, August 21, 1972 - Page 234
LOCATION: Bethlehem, South Dakota

(11:30 AM 8/22/1972)
Bruce woke us up as usual (Us is the three people who share his room: Me, Dennis (who sleeps beneath me) and Ed (who sleeps beneath Bruce) -- and we all sleep as much as possible -- in fact, as I write this, it is 11:20 A.M., and Dennis & Ed are sound asleep -- I woke up at 11:00) -- Bruce always wakes up at 8:00, then he wakes us at about 9:00, then we go back to sleep. Monday he woke us up and left -- we eventually got up, and I found nobody was around. I gave up looking and came back to Abbott's Cabin to read.

It had rained heavily in the morning, and it rained sporadically all thru the day, just enough to prevent us from working. But a bit of work was done -- I got some more of the discarded cement in the van to be taken to the dump -- Bruce & Joe built some more forms for the area that will be cemented between the retreat house & Post Office.

There were lots of tourists. Tom & Bruce got a lot of Alabaster from Spearfish (Geri's uncle carved alabaster), so Bruce & I started some carving. He's making a cross, I was making two links, but they broke just before I finished. Fr. Gil notified me I should remove myself from the premises due to my lack of religious commitment, which is good cause I wanted to get back to California as soon as possible anyway.

I called mom to tell her I'd be leaving this week. Played chess with someone who I beat. Played scrabble with Fr. Henry & Dennis and beat them [Father Henry's score sheet below]. Bruce & I tried to construct a fairly large word from the tiles -- we came up with:

HOLOEXINONINFRAMETASUPERQUASIOMNIDEHYPERIRREANTIPREUNDOUNSCRABBLEYOVOXDJZIPSKIYEINGOUSALLY... ETC., AD INFINITUM, AL FIN.

We haven't determined its meaning yet.

Scrabble scores

TOMORROW: Publicity campaign for McKeever VIPs

Aug 20 - Scrabble plus a new hat & boots

Sunday, August 20, 1972 - Page 233
LOCATION: Bethlehem, South Dakota

(10:10 PM 8/19/2013 [continued from previous day])
a lot of new people here, including Mary and the McKeevers. Bruce got back to Beth Thursday from his trip (he left on July 29th). Tom Hildebrand's in Rapid, having left Beth pro'ly for good. Mike Mills & John left cause Fr. Gil didn't want them here.

Anyway, I got here, took a shower, watched Bruce & Joe play a game of chess, helped Bruce & Joe take a load of concrete block fragments to the dump, then played a game of chess with Bruce, but the game was interrupted when Bruce & I went to help Fr. Gil clean up some overflowed water from the women's rest room at the reception center. Then Bruce took a shower, dinner was had, and the chess game resumed -- Bruce won. That's the first time he's ever beaten me. Then me, Fr. Henry, M.R. and Jim (not the old Jim (he left) but another one) played Scrabble -- M.R. kept score (it is attached to this page).

We quit playing at 10:00, now here I am in the top bunk of the Abbott's cabin (same place I had when I left), trying to get organized. The hat I bought is here -- the boots came, and my birthday presents from mom was an I.D. bracelet which I'm now wearing.

10:00 PM

Got up around 9:30 A.M. It was fairly clear & sunny -- it rained and lightninged last night -- it lightninged tonight too. I read another chapter & a half of "I'm OK, etc." Keith Koball showed up today -- haven't seen him since January. Heard Wheezie's getting married to Debbie soon.

There were more tourists again today -- Brad said it's been the busiest week for tourists he's seen. Called Mom at around 7:30 P.M. Read an Article by Asimov in the Sat. Review which contributed to my temporal travel theories. That about takes care of today -- saw Pierce & Dorothy today. Put new sheets & a blanket on my bed. That's all. G'night.

TOMORROW: Holoexinoninframetasuperquasiomnidehyperirreantipreundounscrabble

Aug 19 - Creepy Eerie Vampirella**

Saturday, August 19, 1972 - Page 232
LOCATION: Rapid City & Bethlehem, South Dakota

10:00 AM
I just woke up. Last night I went into Rapid again (it's about half a mile away) to pass the time. It was beginning to get cloudy, though it was still warm. I went into Becker's Drugstore and found -- forsooth -- a Creepy Magazine! Haven't seen one of those in years. I had to buy it of course. Along with Eerie there is another illustrated monster mag -- Vampirella. I bought that too. I also bought the new If that was there.

Creepy Issue 7 -- February 1966

Eerie Issue 81 - February 1977

Vampirella Issue 18 -- August 1972

Wandered around the town some more (one out-of-towner asked me where he could get some acid -- good grief). Got back as the light was fading -- read a few stories, then tried to get to sleep but it was only 9:00. So I wandered around some more. I cut my hands on the broken glass of the door, and I had a hamburger at Snow White's a few blocks away.

As I was walking back the rain started -- since 8:30 lightning had been flashing around, but now it was right above us. It was a good storm for a while -- the streetlights went out, thunder shook the house, rain came down in torrents. It lasted less than a half-hour though. The lightning persisted, but the rain was gone.

I read some more stories in my mags, and finally got to sleep around 12:30. It is now 10:25 A.M. and the skies are clear and warm. Soon I'll start hiking to Beth.

10:10 PM
I started my way to Beth at 11:30 -- I arrived at 2:00. I hitched, and four rides got me here (the last one was a group that was coming to Beth too, so I got the driver all the way up). Of the group that was here before, Bruce, Brad, Tom Shearing, Father Henry, Sr. Sylvester & M.R. are left. There are [end of page: continued in next entry]

TOMORROW: Scrabble plus a new hat & boots

Aug 18 - Ruffing it: "Welcome to Rapid City"

Friday, August 18, 1972 - Page 231
LOCATION: Rapid City

12:30 PM
God bless the flood -- it has provided me with a temporary haven to organize my chaotic duffle bag, and to arrange my thoughts. I am now lodging in a house made vacant by the recent flood. It is raised up a few feet, resting on bricks. It is relatively clean inside, with only a thin layer of mud on the floor. It is a small house with two rooms and a bathroom (there is a hole where the toilet used to be -- I used it for its intended purpose -- very sanitary). The whole place is stripped, of course, but it is a nice place to rest -- it has a for sale sign on the front, so apparently, it is fit for human occupation. I'm human, and I'm occupying it. --

You may have noticed, my handwriting is jerky. I've noticed too, and I can't figure out why. I'll quit writing for a while -- maybe sanity will return to my hand. Maybe it's guilty, thinking I'm trespassing. Calm down hand, you'll be okay. -- Back in one hour or so. ----------

5:30 PM

An hour or so, huh? Oh well, my hand has calmed down so once again it looks like I'm writing on stationary stationery. I got the stuff in my bag organized, and I added some contributions to this journal, one of which is below. It is a section cut from a larger notice (the rest of it had advertisements) that was neatly thumb tacked to the wall [at bottom of this entry]. It struck me a bit funny, considering the accommodations it represented. I'm not complaining tho. I put in the new battery I bought in Chicago, so I won't have to worry about my watch for another year. The packet the battery came in is on the next page [see below] -- I've preserved it as a period piece. Antique memorabilia in a century or so.

20th Century Timex battery packet

Anyway, back to the chronologue:

The night began to get cool -- I used my CPO jacket as a pillow, and had the corduroy as a blanket. I woke up at seven, and figured it was pretty late for some one to be sleeping in a vacant lot lying down, so I moved myself to an adjacent parking lot and slept sitting down till 8:00. The area was fairly secluded, but people were beginning to get more frequent, so I ceased my slumber. Just in time too -- a car came to the parking lot a moment after I got up.

I wandered over to the Alex Johnson, put my duffle bag in the lobby, and went to eat breakfast at a newly completed restaurant in the A.J. -- last time I was there was a month ago, and you had to eat in a dumpy coffee-shop restaurant on the North side of the lobby. I had eggs, toast, hash browns, and coffee for $1.25. I now have $4.95.

I went back to the lobby and rearranged the stuff in my duffle bag to make it easier to carry -- it had been murder carrying it to the hotel. I read a story in the anthology and left at 11:30 A.M., walking to Interstate 90 business loop (79), along which I found the house I am now in.

TOMORROW: Creepy Eerie Vampirella

Aug 17 - Greyhounding to Rapid**

Thursday, August 17, 1972 - Page 230
LOCATION: Davenport, Omaha, Sioux City, Sioux Falls, Rapid City

9:00 AM
Most of the night was above 80° everywhere we went. The bus was airconditioned fortunately. We stopped in Davenport, Iowa at 11:00, and we got a new driver, but the same rider continued on (he was heading for Omaha) -- they were both veteran bus operators and they talked quite a bit. Got into Iowa City at 12:15 (we left Chi with 29 passengers -- the number fluctuated one or two with each stop) Stopped at the Landmark Restaurant at 1:00 for 20 minutes and I bought a Fresca.

Reached Des Moines at 2:50 A.M. and got a new younger driver -- the rider didn't talk to him, he just slept. I dozed a bit myself -- Got into Omaha at 5:00 A.M. and everyone got off the bus. My bus to Sioux Falls, S.D., had left a half hour earlier -- So here I sit, waiting for the 10:00 bus to S.F. I put my bag in a locker and wandered around Omaha. I picked up a newspaper from a door step (there were three -- I took one and put back two). I read the paper while the sun rose. I killed time in the terminal reading and writing after that.

11:45 PM
The bus came at 10:00 -- It got to Sioux City at 12:30. Then the bus I got on in Chicago (7084) appeared to take me on to Sioux Falls S.D. at 2:00. Got to S.F. at 6:00 I think. Left at 6:30 and continued on to Rapid City. Thinking back, I'm wrong about most of -- oh no, that's right. Anyway, got into Rapid at 11:30, as per schedule. The Jack Rabbit station is only a block or so from the Alex Johnson, so at least I'm oriented. The day was hot, in the mid nineties mostly, but approaching R.C. clouds gathered on the horizon, and lightning storms appeared. There was some rain. But here I am now, sitting under a clear sky in a mild night, about to go to sleep in a vacant lot behind the station. G'night.

TOMORROW: Ruffing it: "Welcome To Rapid City"

Aug 16 - The bus journey begins**

Wednesday, August 16, 1972 - Page 229
LOCATION: Chicago

(9:00 AM 8/17/1972)
Got up at around 10:45 when Sue woke me up. Ken had left for work at 8:00 A.M. Ate "brunch" of hamburger & french fries from Atlas. Sue had wanted to go to Aqua, but I declined. I stayed in my room most of the day reading my old S.F. Anthology. Peg & Sue came up and looked through all the Playboys Larry left for Ken -- they were searching for one of the bunnies who resembled Peggy. Clark had been told by friends (and been given photographic evidence) that Peg had been a playboy bunny. They found one possible photo that looked a bit like her.

August 1972 issue

Any way, I left at 5:30 (I kissed Sue goodbye first of course) -- Ken drove me to the depot, and Sue came along for the ride. My duffle bag weighed 40 pounds, incidentally. So it was in no danger for over weight on the airplane -- the limit would have been 70 lbs. I bought my ticket and waited for an hour. I found a vacant seat with the T.V. set still going, so for free I watched the last half of the old Dick Van Dyke show, and the first 15 minutes of The David Steinberg show.

The bus was supposedly leaving at gate 25 -- I waited there (after retrieving my duffle bag from the lockers where I stored it while I waited -- too heavy to carry around) -- but the bus got filled up. So I was the first on the next bus, which was right beside it. So I naturally took the right front seat. We departed by 8:00 (half hour late), with a bus driver, and another one who was just along for the ride. They talked shop awhile. The rider had been a bus operator for 20 years, and he had never had an occurrence like happened on the bus that night -- the rest room door locked itself. The bus had to stop at a gas station where he stood on a barrel and poked a broom handle through a vent on the outside to unlatch the door. Then we resumed our journey.

TOMORROW: Greyhounding to Rapid

Aug 15 - Four-part Soviet series, War & Peace

Tuesday, August 15, 1972 - Page 228
LOCATION: Chicago

9:15 PM
Marcus came over today too, and he's here now -- boy! this is a neat pen. I've never used it before, it's one of Ken's. It's just a bic, but it skids along nicely -----. Anyway, I got up at 10:00 A.M. as usual. Proceeded to work on Marcus and finished him at 7:30. I took a nap for a coupla hours and had to wake up for dinner. Saw the last part of War & Peace. It vus goot! Ken's working from 9 to 4 tomorrow.

Original theatrical poster for War and Peace,
a Soviet film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's novel
released in four parts during 1966 & 1967

Boy, today didn't take up much space did it? Wait a second... yeah, I checked and this is the shortest installment I've made since I've been here in Chicagoland. I don't know why, I've had duller days than this, I'm sure, yet this day, August 15, 1972 -- the day before I am to leave -- happens to be the day which gets the least written about it. Oh, by the way, I read another story in my old anthology -- by Robert Silverberg, "Ishmael In Love." About a love-struck dolphin. Poor devil. Was a good story.

There was a dolphin in the Shedd Aquarium that I was observing closely. Are they sentient? No indication that they aren't. If they are, how long before we recognize the fact and make intelligent contact? Well, I've about run out of stuff to say. This isn't the shortest installment after all. I might say something profoundly clever right now but I won't bother. Count your blessings. Finis. ---

DVD Cover released in 2005

A 20-part BBC TV series of War and Peace ran from September 30, 1972 until February 8, 1973. It starred Anthony Hopkins as the conflicted character, Pierre Bezukhov.

TOMORROW: The bus journey begins