Nov 04 - "Money has a way of disappearing"

Saturday, November 4, 1972 - Page 310
LOCATION: Newport Beach, CA

(2:00 PM 11/5/1972)
Worked on TF notes, reading choice selections from the Time/Life book on "Reptiles." Mom was mailing a check to Psychology Today for the subscription (it cost me $6.00), so I took the opportunity to take care of two other bills -- one was the price of the new Time/Life book of "The Emergence of Man" series, the other was a long past due bill for the Man Myth & Magic hardbound books, three of which they'd already sent me. I've had the past due notice above for at least a month. I requested them to stop my subscription to the hardcovers and renew my MM&M subscription of the magazine versions of which I already had 50 issues.

We'll see what develops. All in all, the bill tidying up, including the $6.00 for PT, cost about $22.00. Money has a way of disappearing. For the past few weeks I've been on one meal a day and don't seem any the worse for wear, except I'm slightly lethargic at work. Got to sleep Saturday nite at about 2:30 A.M. -- not entirely unusual.

TOMORROW: Chuck & Joe beat our canoe-racing nemeses

Oct 25 - Another new maid named Linda

Wednesday, October 25, 1972 - Page 299
LOCATION: Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim

(12:50:00 AM 10/26/1972 Thursday)
Got in to work at 9:40 as I did yesterday (Left on 8:00 bus) -- It has been foggy in the morning for the past several days but this morning was the foggiest. Afternoons are hot & clear tho. Painted all day. A new maid was hired and she's been working since Monday. Her name's Linda too but she's plump & dumpy but has a reasonable personality. Left work at 6:00 and got to Newport & Coast at 7:15 where I told Mom to pick me up, and she did. Chunk was home to eat dinner -- he & Joe'd gone paddling again. We had dinner and watched T.V. He ate & left.

I got a letter from CRM Books. About a month ago I sent a coupon from Psych. Today for Anthropology Today. They sent the coupon back -- the price had changed. So I sent a check and will mail it tomorrow. That's all.

TOMORROW: Day 300... 66 to go

Sep 21 - How did stegosaurs mate?

Thursday, September 21, 1972 - Page 265
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

Megalosauruses

3:00 PM
Haven't been to sleep yet. Worked on T.F. and learned that a species called Megalosaurus in the Mesozoic was sentient. Read an article in Nat. Geo. about Piranhas and now I've gotta finish the last N.G. I have left to read about Remote Sensing devices. I went out today for sun at 10:30. I swam to the raft, stayed on it for a while, but noticed how red I was so I swam to the beach, stayed awhile, and was back at 11:30.

Watched T.V., broiled the chicken that was in the refrigerator, and washed the dishes. Now it is 3:04:55, and I don't know where the rest of the day will be spent. (Was in the 90°s today)

(1:04:24 AM 9/22/1972)
I retired today at about 6:30 P.M. after trying to find the answer to a question nobody's ever asked before that I know of: How did a Stegosaurus mate? That's the one with the long spikes on its tail and the big plates sticking out of the back. That would be a very lethal arrangement for a male steg in heat. I checked into two books about dinosaurs, one about reptiles, one about birds, and two volumes in the Encyclopedia Britannica and none of them had the nerve (or gall) to tell me how a steg managed to procreate. I can figure out only one way, but the dinosaur would have to be pretty intelligent to pull it off. Anyway, it is now 1:10:37 A.M. I woke up at 12:45. Back to the research...

(5:44:35 AM 9/23/1972)
I went to sleep "today" (Sept 22, Fri) at 6:45, and woke up at 4:00 A.M. (Sat). Skimmed some more books for info, made scads of more notes. The heat was in the 80°s but it was sufficiently overcast to permit me to stay indoors. I got the mail, among which was a Psychology Today with a great ad about a great new Time/Life series called "The World Before Man." I sent for it right away. Mom brought McDonald food, as she usually does on Fri. cause by then there's no food here.

TOMORROW: TIME REVIEW: The past 100 days

Sep 09 - The Aquatic Ape Theory

Saturday, September 9, 1972 - Page 253
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

3:25 AM
Got up at about 1:30 (officially) when Dad came over (he came around about noon) and Lara & Mike popped in (about 1:00). Dad's doing a lot of leather work now as a hobby. L&M are getting more involved with managing [at the Ivanhoe Motel near Disneyland]. They all left shortly after I got up. I can't recall doing very much today.

I read a condensed version of "The Descent of Woman," which is about the aquatic theory of evolution. [Written by Elaine Morgan (wikipedia info), this book influented my graphic novel, Tempus Fugitives (info), in which I incorporated a segment featuring prehistoric seaside females. One compelling bit of evidence supporting the "aquatic ape hypothesis" is the pattern of hair on the entire human form -- it clearly demonstrates the flow of water over a swimming body, thus indicating a long period of evolution that occurred in marine environments.]

A new "Psych. Today" mag came today (nobody recalls subscribing to it, but it's in Mom's name). Anyway, there was an article in it called "Louis S. B. Leakey & Robert Ardrey in dialogue on Man, The Killer." I just finished reading that.

Chunk called today around 5:00, then he and Murray came by to pick me up. We drove to Bob Kirkebey's to get a fourth to play chess, but he wasn't home. Then we drove to Bill Somebody's -- a friend of Murray's & Chunk's and a fellow I very vaguely recall from Schwinn. He used to work there before I did. He's living in an apartment with Diane, a girl who looks alot like Kim Darby, an actress. Anyway, we stayed at their apartment awhile, then we all drove to Chunk's in Murray's car. We stopped at Tim's house on the way so I could get a second chess set -- Tim, as I already knew, was at Disneyland, so I had to get Mrs. assistance in unlocking his door and stealing his set.

On the way to Chunk's, we stopped at a red light -- the one at Newport Freeway, I think. There were two cars in front of us. The first car had a guy in it who came out to talk with a girl in the second car, then he got back in his car. This seemed odd, so Chunk did the same thing -- he got out of Murray's car to talk at her. By this time the red light was used up, so we locked the doors and took off before Chunk could get back in. Back at the apartments Chunk caught up [Chuck was an experienced long-distance runner], bought some wine, and we played chess. I played a couple games with Diane, winning one, losing the other. Chunk played Bill a couple, beating him in both. I played Bill & stalemated. He, her & Murray left about 12:00. Chunk & I played hockey -- I won, 50 to 42. Rah. I left, running home. So I got my exercise. About a half hour after I got home, I met Taco [my cat] and we walked to the dock.

TOMORROW: Chuck teaches me to ride a dirt bike