Apr 10 - Responses to magazine submissions

Monday, April 10, 1972 - Page 101
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

12:00 PM
This morning at about a quarter to six, Mom got me to take one dead gnawed gopher from her room, and one tuckered out live one. Taco has been busy. Yesterday, before I went kayaking, I tried to get a big lizard out from under the couch, but I only managed to retain about an inch of its tail, and it ran further under the couch, so I gave up. I rewoke up today at a quarter to noon and got the mail, which consisted of a reminder from Shrine of the Nativity to tell them you can afford to go on their June trip to Spain & Italy; an answer from Jack & Jill; and the rejection of "Moira-Quest" by Galaxy.

J&J just mailed me their "Editorial Needs and Requirements," saying at the bottom in handwriting: Please send 50¢ in cash for a copy of magazine. They kept my envelope and stamp.

Editorial Acknowledgement Thus Far
Cavalcade -- Query -- Response: 8 days
Read -- Query -- Response: 9 days
F&SF -- Manuscript, 750 words -- Response: 10 days
J&J -- Query -- Response: 12 days
Analog -- 750-words manuscript -- Response: 16 days
Galaxy -- 3,500-words manuscript -- Response: 41 days

[TIME-JUMP INTO THE PAST: News from this day in 1971]
(Year ago this date: Went on Gray Line Tour of NY, went to Empire State Building -- arrived in NY Apr 9, 1971 -- Easter Sunday came on Apr 11, 1971)

1:02:40 AM
Tried to get my room cleaned up but didn't get too far. Mom left for bridge at about 6:15, the Academy Awards came on at 7:00, Mike came over at 7:15, and I had to go with him to see Dad (he didn't know where he lived), so he and me went to visit Lucifer [Grady's dumb nickname for his father, Lu Lyda] in Mike's new Plymouth Duster that he bought Saturday for $3000, and which we will drive to Las Vegas in. We chatted with Dad, Mike got to see his apartment, Dad drove around in the Duster, but still liked his Audie, but said it's the kind of car a girlfriend of his wants, so he wanted to borrow it, but Mike was pretty selfish and wants to keep it for himself.

At about 8:30 P.M. we left Dad's and Mike drove me back to Eye Sore Park, and I saw the end of the Academy Awards (which ended at 9:30) and The French Connection got awards for Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Picture -- I, in my wisdom, saw the picture twice (see page 5 [January 5] for verification -- the second time I saw it I paid for it myself. Ugh). I washed the dishes during the Academy Awards, and the Bob Hope special, and Rowan & Martin's Laughin, and the Dick Cavett Show. Mom got home at about 10 to one a.m. Is now 1:14:53 A.M.----- FINIS

[The biggest movie of 1972 was The Godfather, released in the US on March 15, and in 1973 it won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay]

Mar 08 - Finished "Demigod's Demise"

Wednesday, March 8, 1972 - Page 68
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

12:00 AM
I just finished "Demigod's Demise" (previously "Death of a Tyrant"). I'll type it and show it to Mary Lyons tomorrow. I did quite a bit of research -- in fact, ever since I've started my "free-lance writing career" I've been doing a lot of research... on things like flies, Adolph Hitler (erroneously referred to as Schicklgruber), comets (of which it is estimated there are 120,000), stars, the universe in general, dinosaurs, archaeology, the nature of Time, para-physiology, Latin, murder techniques, and various other unrelated topics. If I keep this up I may lose my amateur standing as an ignorant high school drop-out.

Yesterday I got to sleep at 5:30 or 6:00 A.M. and got up this morning at 1:00 P.M. Got the mail ("Analog" came today), and sunned for about half an hour on the raft -- it was pretty cool but there were no clouds -- too windy. I did the dishes. Chunk came over to paddle. I ran out of I ran out of ink again while writing. Larry called. The cat got another lizard. Mom made some Tapioca pudding. Dad worked overtime again. Mom went to a movie. I ended a sentence without a period

(4:09 AM 3/9/72)
"D.D." is a lousy story -- so is "M-Q." Realistically, and objectively, I've gotta say that they won't sell.

Mar 03 - Redford double feature

Friday, March 3, 1972 - Page 63
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

(9:39 AM 3/4/1972)
Woke up at 9:30 when the cat brought in a large flying insect -- later in the afternoon she brought in another lizard. I took a much needed bath, and got the mail. Tanned from 11:30 to 2:30. Mom and I went to see "The Hot Rock" & "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid" in the Stadium Theater (# 4). Got back at twelve. She was broke so I had to pay for it: $3.70 -- now I'm broke. Chunk went off for another weekend, taking "Patch."

Mar 02 - Pioneer 10 gets up there at last**

Thursday, March 2, 1972 - Page 62
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

(12:14 AM 3/3/1972)
Well, they finally launched the Pioneer X today. It took them a while. I got up at 9:30 when the cat brought me a lizard -- to her dismay I threw it out the window. Liz is still out there -- she's been there now for almost a week, but she hasn't changed much.

Artist's depiction of the
Pioneer 10 robotic space probe.

It was another nice sunny day, so I tried to tan my hide for two or three hours. I finished reading Orn, and yesterday I finished the Amazing S.F. mag. Chunk came over, but he paddled by himself -- I've been out today already. I should get started on another story soon. Yep, I sure should. Real soon. Uh huh. I wrote a letter to Sue -- I mean, Soozwol -- and I'll mail it tomorrow.

At the suggestion of astronomer Carl Sagan,
Pioneers 10 & 11 carry gold-anodized aluminum plaques
in case either spacecraft is found by intelligent life-forms.
"Yoo-hoo, we're over here! Come invade us."

Feb 21 - Washington's 240th birthday

Monday, February 21, 1972 - Page 52
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

9:00 PM
Wrote a few more pages in Moira-Quest last night -- now I've got 9 typewritten pages and there are pro'ly three more to go. Mom left for work at 7:30, Dad left at 10:00. At around ten thirty Ben Parks (mentor of Chunk Lyda at the peak of his kayaking career) dropped by. I called Winnie who called Chunk (he works at the 76 station next door) and Ben summarily wandered off in the right direction. He'd been down the Amazon about a year ago and he's been working in L.A.

I washed the dishes and, by 2:00, I tried to get some sleep but Tacosumi provided some difficulties -- she probably thought it was pretty funny. The cat brought me a lizard which I -- upon waking up -- threw out the window. But like a good cat she fetched it and returned it to me, and I woke up again and threw it back out. And she brought it back. And I threw it out. The fourth time, I threw it as far as I could, and Taco couldn't find it. So I got to sleep at about 3:00. [Tacosumi was my Siamese cat -- her name is a play on the catchphrase "Sock it to me" which was made popular by the TV sketch comedy show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.]

At 6:00 I woke up due to a lot of noise Mom was making on the phone. She was talking to Larry, laughing, yelling and arguing politics -- a level to which Larry seldom lowers himself. Today is Washington's birthday -- he's 240. His cake started a greater alarm fire in D.C. Ha ha. Well, it wasn't funny but at least it was original.

WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY JOKE:
Boy, wasn't George Washington lucky to be born on a holiday.
(SORRY, THAT'S ALL)

[In fact, George's birthday was February 22, 1732. On January 1, 1971, it was moved to the third Monday in February to create a bonus three-day weekend, which is currently called Presidents' Day.]