Here are the final 5 highlights selected from 366 journal entries of 1972
LOCATION: Corona, California -- Jan 28, 2014
16)Aug 27, 1972 - Flying with a bomb on Western Airlines
LOCATION: Bethlehem; Rapid City; Salt Lake City; Los Angeles; Anaheim
In which I left Rapid City, stopped in SLC while flying to LAX, and somehow ended up at the Disneyland Hotel. Then mom stopped by for a visit to give me a check for five bucks so I could go to Disneyland the next day (Aug 28 - Disneyland for $4.95).
Page 266: A Time Bump where I responsibly fill in the anomalous Temporal Gap that was created when I visited this entry from page 66 (Mar 06 - As close as I'll get to time travel).
18) Oct 13, 1972 - 1st Black President: James Earl Jones
LOCATION: Newport Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana
A fantastic drive-in double feature: Thanks to Rod Serling, the U.S. gets a cool African American President, and then Raquel Welch becomes a deadly gunfighter.
(Update from THE RECENT FUTURE [7/19/2015]: Go to Friday the 13th1972, for free YouTube links to both of these films: The Man & Hannie Caulder) For a bonus link to THE CURRENT FUTURE, go to HERE & NOW
Gunslinger Hannie Caulder
19) Nov 22, 1972 - 9th anniversary of Kennedy's murder
LOCATION:Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim
What are we really willing to believe? ... never mind ...
Maybe it went something like this... Go to this entry to watch the whole movie: "Executive Action" or "How to Kill Your Annoying President"
20) Dec 13, 1972 - End of an Era: the last moonwalk ever
LOCATION: Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim
That was 42 years ago. Where have human beings been lately?
LOCATION: Bethlehem & Wonderland Cave, South Dakota
I visit Wonderland Cave & Prince Valiant confronts a sorcerer in The Cave of TIME.
Writer/Illustrator HAL FOSTER (1892 - 1982) set an impossibly high standard for graphic storytelling. His Prince Valiant series followed the thrilling adventures of a bold prince throughout his life while he aged in real time. Splendid artwork & deceptively simple text wove complex tales of exploration, power struggles, ingenuity, magic, courage, peace & violence. The PV sagas clearly inspired our recent Game of Thrones productions. It's interesting to note that the extraordinary life's work that defined Foster's existence was tragically erased from his mind. During a routine medical procedure, an accident with anesthesia resulted in extreme memory loss. At the end of his days, he could never recall writing or drawing Prince Valiant. As far as he was concerned, his extraordinary world-changing epic never happened.
None may withstand "TIME"... I vanquish them all in the end.
LOCATION: Bethlehem, South Dakota
In an examination of memory, I consider two versions of "Total Recall" and wonder what you will remember about these movies after 40 years. Anything? Anything at all?
13) Jul 17, 1972 - Pranking McGovern's Secret Service
LOCATION: Bethlehem & Rapid City, South Dakota
On my 18th birthday I end up at the Rapid City airport for the arrival of the Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern. While we are waiting, my friends & I amuse ourselves by impersonating secret service agents. McGovern was a South Dakota senator and a friend of Father Gilbert & the Shrine of the Nativity. This day also features a mind-bending experience at Mount Rushmore and a visit to The Planet Of The Apes.
14) Aug 13, 1972 - A fun-filled family dinner party
LOCATION: Chicago
I had a great time in Chicago as a guest of the Latkas. This page includes photos of me having a goofy dinner with family & friends.
15) Aug 25, 1972 - "Guess Who" concert in Rapid City
LOCATION: Bethlehem & Rapid City, South Dakota
Guess who appears in this entry?
The Guess Who - Undun (1983 performance)
Another band I saw in '72 was Styx when they first appeared under that name at a Marist High School dance in Chicago (July 21). I never would have dreamed that both of these groups would still be performing more than 40 years later. It's interesting to note that Styx & The Guess Who have both created compelling songs about the enigma of time. If we got Styx, The Guess Who & Chicago together, we could have a decent TIME concert. Something like this...
Styx - The Best of Times
Styx - Too Much Time on My Hands
The Guess Who - No Time
Styx - Crystal Ball
NEXT WEEK:Top 20 Entries from 1972 - Part 4 (16 to 20)
This entry captures the drama and glory that's associated with dedicated paddlers' trips to the river. The close-knit subculture of whitewater river-runners is documented during a two-day Kern River camping trip & I get very wet very often, with an extensive narrative that overflows into the next page (April 17 - Kern River excursion, Part 2).
Chuck in a slalom run on the Kern
07) May 20, 1972 - Competing in LA Games canoe races LOCATION: Hansen Dam, Los Angeles
Let's visit the 1972 Los Angeles Municipal Games. I have never considered myself to be an athlete but I agreed to accompany Chuck for this big two-day event. He had been training me to win it since May 11.
On the first day Chuck competed in various races, we became reacquainted with some adventurous lady friends who called themselves the Aquatils, the #2-ranked U.S. paddler (Bay Shore Park neighbor Art Vitarelli) arrived to humiliate Chuck (ranked #3), we participated in a wild & crazy football game, and later hung out with a group of fun Girl Scouts. The second day is even busier and I find out if Chuck's coaching will lead me to victory: May 21. This page also includes the infamous TURTLE CLUB riddles.
Supplemental Addendum
ANCIENT AND HONORABLE ORDER OF TURTLES (wiki info)
The Four Sublime Questions
There are many more Turtle Riddles than the four mentioned in the May 21 entry. Here are 10 examples, but you only need to answer 4 correctly to become a Turtle. Vulgar or lewd responses are unacceptable and would never occur to a true Turtle. The 10 answers can be found at the bottom of the entry for May 19 - TURTLE CLUB: Official membership card.
1) A finger goes in me. You fiddle with me when you're bored. Thebest man always has me first. What am I?
2) All day long, it's in and out. I discharge loads from my shaft.Both men and women go down on me. What am I?
3) Over 1,000 people went down on me. I wasn't a maiden for long.A big hard thing ripped me open. What am I?
4) When I go in, I cause pain. I cause you to spit and ask you notto swallow. I can fill your hole. What am I?
5) My business is briefs. I am a cunning linguist. I plead andplead for it. What am I?
6) I go in hard, I come out soft. You blow me hard. What am I?
7) If I miss, I will hit your bush. It's my job to stuff your box.When I come, it's news. So, what am I?
8) I have a stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver.What am I?
9) I assist an erection. Sometimes big balls hang from me. I'mcalled a big swinger. What am I?
10) I am a protrusion that comes in many sizes. When I'm not well,I drip. When you blow me, you feel good. What am I?
Turtle Club Update: Tuesday, July 22, 2014
After exhaustively extensive & intensive research coupled with brilliantly clever deductive intuitiveness, I finally succeeded in contacting the reclusive, transcendentally magnificent Supreme Imperial Turtle (Emeritus) of the "Ancient & Honorable Order of Turtles." I will not divulge his name (Denis P. McGowan), but he replied when I asked for details about the "Secret Handclasp" & the confidential "Turtle Hailing Sign." He beseeched me to solemnly swear never to reveal this extraordinary knowledge to anyone else. Here's what he told me:
Dear Bro. Lyda,
I am delighted to hear from you, my honored and esteemed Brother. I usually get about three or four emails a day about Turtledom, usually questions pertaining to the secret handclasp or "grip," the recognition sign, or one of the questions asked during the Sublime Test of the Four Questions. That's usually because our members were "over-served" during their initiation, and in such a cloudy or befuddled state, it is not their fault if they cannot recall key elements of their Turtle initiation.
The Grip of the Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles
The grip, or secret handclasp, of the Order is done as a mode of recognition to confirm membership in the Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles. The grip is not to be given unless the password exchange has been verified and Turtle membership established. The grip is performed as follows:
Place your index and middle fingers on the wrist of the other Brother or Sister Turtle. Press gently. Resultant proclamation:"Behold, my Brother! The secret grip of the Turtles! Feel the alcohol pulsing through each other's veins!" The Hailing Sign of the Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles
The hailing sign of the Order is done as a mode of recognition to confirm membership in the Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles. The sign is not to be executed unless the password exchange has been acknowledged and Turtle membership established.
The hailing sign is performed as follows:
Place your right hand into a fist, with the thumb extended straight out. Place it up to your chest, with the thumb pointing outward away from you. Cover the right hand with your left hand.Appropriate response:"Behold, my Brother! The hailing sign of the Turtles! See the noble Turtle sticking his head out of his shell, seeking his next drink to imbibe!"
Brother Lyda, if I can be of further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me. May Almighty God, the Great Bartender of the Universe, who will only serve you what you can handle in life, continue to bless us all, and all the brave men and women who serve and protect in our great nation’s armed forces and law enforcement agencies, and keep them all safe from harm. Happy and peaceful holidays to you and your loved ones!
Fraternally Yours Eternally in Turtledom,
Brother Denis P. McGowan
Supreme Imperial Turtle
Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles
So there you have it. Don't forget: You never heard it from me. [ I never revealed anything at all to anybody, and I never would -- That's all on HIM ]
08) Jun 03, 1972 - Racing to Catalina with Chuck & Murray
LOCATION: Newport Beach & Catalina
I am brought along with Chuck & Murray on a Sea Scout sailboat race to Catalina. After reaching the island, we stayed on the boat overnight and raced back home the next day (June 4 - Doldrums: Catalina Race, Day 2). As it turned out, this wasn't exactly a "race" -- it was really a long, slow excursion over many miles of boring ocean. Nobody knew or cared who won this competition -- we were all just glad when it was over.
Chuck Lyda & Murray Lewis, 1974
09) Jun 17, 1972 - Job Ends - A long, surprising day
LOCATION: Oxnard & Newport Beach, CA
At this time I was visually impaired. I am nearsighted -- anything beyond 5 feet becomes increasingly blurry. My glasses had been lost in a recent boating accident (June 11) and I wouldn't be able to get new ones until June 23. Nevertheless I persevered.
This sprawling entry covers a lot of territory, from my final day as a landscaper in Oxnard (digging ditches, planting trees, etc. -- a job that began on June 6) to Newport Beach with the unexpected arrival of my cousin Jim with his friend, Tim. Also on this day is a video of All in the Family when Sammy Davis Jr. meets Archie Bunker. Below is part of a puzzling episode that proves to a disbelieving Archie that women can, indeed, be superior to men.
This introduces the Diary which is the first & last time Grady kept a daily journal. He describes events of New Year's Eve 1971 and New Year's Day 1972, mentioning girl troubles, cop problems, and an overall dissatisfaction with life. Normal adolescent angst. In the following entry for January 02, Grady explains the circumstances of his unnecessary arrest on the morning of New Year's Day. This is a typical 17-year-old moaning about the world's frustrating unfairness. Same as it ever was.
After "borrowing" my family's car (we owned two), I became a runaway with my equally disgruntled high school friend, Matt Gold. We were aiming for New York but we ended up in Bethlehem, South Dakota, where I had been invited to come for a visit by Father Gilbert Stack who ran the place. This was a popular tourist destination called The Shrine of the Nativity that had been installed in a famous cave. To see more text & photos regarding this historic location, please go to the July 18 entry.
Anyway, we soon learned that the police were hunting for us due to an All Points Bulletin (APB) on the "stolen" car (one of our parents snitched on me), so we were temporarily trapped there until the legal problems could be resolved.
That's me at age 17 shoveling snow in South Dakota
03) Jan 18, 1972 - Letter of explanation to Grandma Dot
LOCATION: Bethlehem, South Dakota
Here is the letter I wrote to my grandmother telling her why I had escaped from Newport Beach. Later I heard that she cried when she read this. She was well-known to the staff at The Shrine of the Nativity and was a long-time friend of Father Gilbert (born as Garrett Michael Stack in 1913): They both grew up in Kansas City, Missouri.
04) Mar 06, 1972 - As close as I'll get to time travel
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California
Grady, an aspiring science-fiction writer, speculates about the future and ponders the mysteries of TIME. "Where will I be on December 31, 1972... [Answer: San Francisco & Soda Springs, California], will everyone I know still be alive? [NO. There will be a death in the family on September 13] ...Where will I be on January 1, 2000?" [At an apartment in Corona, California, with my wife, Celia, and daughter, Elora] March72Grady makes a series of completely inaccurate predictions, then sets up an impromptu Temporal Experiment designed to visit the near future with April72Grady: "What unimagined events will have transpired between now (Apr. 2), and when I wrote this (March 6)? We shall see." What could we learn from a trip thru time that takes us just one month ahead? Surprisingly, quite a bit... Find out in the entry for April 02 (Easter Sunday) - Tinkering with Time.
This bold experiment in virtual time travel extends even further as we discover in the entry for Sep 22, where we see this note: "Once again I ventured into the future from March 6, 1972, 8:12 P.M. What would I find? Would I be happy or sad?" That page provides the answers.
You might say this is all just tricks with words on paper. There's no authentic scientific experiment here, it's just semantics. Let's consider the facts: At 7:51pm on Monday, March 6, 1972, a 17-year-old projects his thoughts forward in time to find out where he's going to be at the end of the year, and even at the end of the century. Now he knows. Mission accomplished. Then he invokes his nearby future-self to learn what will happen in less than a month -- and on April 2 he reports back to himself.
Today we have gone beyond any boundaries he'd imagined... 42 years later, he/I is/am connecting with memories of that teenager and filling in the gaps between him/me at 17 and him/me at 59. PLUS, amazingly, in the constantly shifting Present Moment, the entire world has instant access to the results of this exercise. It is a globally shared temporal-spanning experience among all parties concerned, including him, me, you, us, them, and even all the unborn folks who are reading this 42 years from now in the year 2056. We have literally gone Back to the Future, the Past & All Points in between.
Yes, of course it's all in your head: Where else would you perceive the effects of TIME? Okay, let's travel back to the past again...
05) Apr 14, 1972 - Epic exploration of Newport Bay
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California
This is when I risked life-and-limb to explore the great wilderness that existed beyond my humble mobile home park. It took awhile. I got home late and learned that mom had already called the Newport Beach Harbor Patrol to search for my pathetic missing body. This extensive entry spills over into April 15.
NEXT WEEK:Top 20 Entries from 1972 - Part 2 (6 to 10)
