Dec 19 - The new maid, Mimi (or Enid)

Tuesday, December 19, 1972 - Page 354
LOCATION: Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim

APOLLO 17 LANDED TODAY AS PLANNED

11:00 PM
I got to sleep last night finally around 3:30. Good ole insomnia. Got the 8:00 A.M. bus just barely (had to skip brushing my teeth), and the driver gave me an envelope containing the new bus schedules that are coming into effect in January. I quickly fell asleep on the bus, stretching out in the rearmost seat (my usual location) and awaking only seldom to notice we were passing thru thick fog. I woke up in time to get off (that's one of the mysteries of the brain, how it always signals a sleeping bus rider when the trip is over -- I've never seen it fail) and loped groggily to the RTD terminal. It was less foggy there in Santa Ana and it burned off quickly, resolving into a warm day. I wandered to the terminal's facilities (I didn't have time to attend to that at home) and wandered back to the lobby.

I read "Catch-22" and was at work by 9:40. Worked on painting 114, taking an apalling amount of time and taking breaks incessantly. I'm learning. The new maid I noticed a few days ago was back today -- a beautiful girl wearing low-ride levis and a yellow body shirt that revealed her admirable contours -- unfortunately she was wearing a brassiere. She ignored me very well, I thought, and I assumed she was one of those girls who were so cold a little light comes on every time they open their mouths. But when a leaky faucet broke in room 118, I couldn't avoid her (she was working on 118 & 119) and discovered she had a husky feminine voice, a nice smile and quick wit. She's pro'ly married. If not, I'll hijack her to be my model. Her name is either Enid or Mimi, I'll find out for sure later. I hope she doesn't quit the job like Laura & Laura did before her. Angela, though cute and deliberately charming, is 16 and goes to school and is still hesitant with life -- Mimi (or Enid) appears to be mature and intelligent. I hope, I hope. I hope.

Anyway, I quit working at 5:15 again, and passed up the 6:00 Laguna bus for Dave's 6:30 Balboa. Neither John, Lois, nor the coffee girl were featured on this trip. Dave sold his car to one of his fellow drivers (he showed me the check for $150) but my suspicion against his congenial sincerity was warded off by a congenially sincere promise that he'd be looking for a car for me and let me know if he found one.

A woman got on at South Coast Plaza -- she wanted the Laguna Beach bus, but Dave informed her the last one left a half hour earlier. He took her on, and dropped she & me off at the bridge on Coast Hwy & Newport, and I escorted her to the Greyhound station.

She was from Berkeley, just graduated college, & had been a Junior High & High School English & Music teacher & was going to Laguna Beach for a rest at a friend's hotel where she was staying for free. I carried her heavy suitcase. The Greyhound station was closed, and I tried to call the Greyhound station on a payphone, trying various numbers which were either busy or din't answer. Luckily a bus pulled in -- heading South. She got in, I handed her the suitcase, and she went away to Laguna.

I walked home, stopping to buy new pants at Mister Britches. Got home at 8:00, ate a T.V. dinner & watched T.V. Mom got home around nine after shopping. I took a bath and tried the new hair styler-drier that she bought. So I'm beautiful now. I'm on page 314.

TOMORROW: Laramée & Mike's Anniversary

Dec 15 - Bus driver Dave

Friday, December 15, 1972 - Page 350
LOCATION: Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim

(12:00 PM 12/16/1972)
Got up late, left at 10:00 A.M., got to work by a quarter to noon. I did the regular maintenance work as usual, then started cleaning the outside windows of all the rooms, using the ungainly long aluminum extension ladder. Removed the screens to wash them. Mimi, the new maid, was there for the first time. Ken was there from 1:00 to 5:00 and helped with the windows & screens of the lower story. I procrastinated alot still, but managed to wash the upper story windows on the 4-heater room side and all of the lower story windows & screens everywhere. Ken cleaned off the old caulking in 110, 11, 12, & 13 and vacuumed the pool.

I left at 5:00, and mentioned the skydiving venture to Mike, and he might go along too, but is reticent about spending the $40 for it. I waited almost an hour for the bus, and got a few new patterns on my ticket: [sketches of hole punch shapes]. Maybe each bus driver has a different design so they can tell who punched what -- I'll find out some day [Today's the day: Yes, unique ticket punch symbols are a security feature employed to identify or cancel tickets used by trains, bus lines, promotions, etc.].

Got the 6:30 OCTD, so talked with Dave the driver. He got a Volvo, which he'd been trying to get for months. I asked what he was going to do with his other car (a '63 Belair Chevy), and he said he was selling it for $150.00, so I might buy it. He got my address & number to contact me about it.

Was home by 7:30 -- mom picked me up at the Centinella parking lot. She had a big steak & mushroom dinner ready & I ate it voraciously. Watched T.V. and went to bed 'bout 11:00 or 11:30 -- Mom went to a movie, "Lady Sings the Blues." I got to page 157 on "22." I just killed a couple more ants. Tenacious little devils.

Original 1972 Theatrical Release Poster

TOMORROW: A day of bad writing and bad drawing

Dec 14 - My new work ethic: Creative procrastination

Thursday, December 14, 1972 - Page 349
LOCATION: Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim

"Here man completed his first explorations of the moon"

9:00 PM
I got the 7:00 A.M. bus by the narrowest possible margin, waking up at 6:50, giving me barely enough time to get dressed, brush my teeth, comb my hair, stuff my pockets, and get to the bus stop. I bought a new 10-ride ticket at the terminal -- mom cashed my check yesterday. Got to work at 8:45, and today I really procrastinated. Currently I'm on page 121 in [Catch] "22" and the book must be corrupting me -- for an hour or two I read -- the rest of the day I put things off. All I did was stain the doors and clean the walls of 110, 11, & 12. It consumed my 8 and a half hours somehow.

Angela was there today, as usual between 3:30 & 5:30. She's sixteen and has to go to high school. She tried to open 101, and couldn't. Mike & I finally managed to unlock it & I spent 10 or 15 minutes fixing the door. Quit work at 5:15, got the 5:30 RTD, and the 6:00 OCTD. Dave drives the 6:30 line to Balboa -- the one I prefer to ride is the Laguna Beach line (stops right at the corner), and the new guy, I know his name not, and I conversed. He's 26 -- we talked about truck & bus driving, automobiles, anthropology, the condition of the world, and psychic phenomena (he's psychic -- has premonitions), among other things.

Got home at 7:00. Ants attacked a cake in the cabinet & mom declared war on them again. I got a new volume in "The Emergence of Man: The Missing Link." It's good. I heard that Chunk was going skydiving on Jan 6 & 7 so I invited myself along. I've wondered if I'd have the guts to jump out of a plane, so I'm going to find out [To read about the time in 1973 when Chuck & I made three jumps, go here: Skydiving].

The guys lifted off from the moon today afternoon, and are now orbiting Luna, having docked. Tha's enough for today. Chunk & Joe came by minutes ago and they are paddling now. It's 9:30 now.

TOMORROW: Bus driver Dave

Dec 07 - The Blue Marble***

Thursday, December 7, 1972 - Page 342
LOCATION: Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim

Once a photograph of the Earth, taken from the outside, is available — once the sheer isolation of the Earth becomes plain — a new idea as powerful as any in history will be let loose. -- Astronomer Fred Hoyle, 1948

Photo: NASA (wiki info)

72's NEWS: 12/7/1972
Astronauts on Apollo 17 took a famous photograph of Earth that came to be known as The Blue Marble. The photo captured 41 years ago was the first clear image of the Earth because the sun was at the astronauts' back so the planet appears lit up and you can distinctly see blue, white, brown, even green. It became a symbol of the environmental movement of the 1970s and it's the image that gets put on flags, T-shirts, bumper stickers, and posters.

[I also used this historic picture at the end of my Star*Reach graphic novelette, "Out of Space - Out of Time" — See it here: The Star Boundary ]

The crew of Apollo 17 was about 28,000 miles away from Earth when they snapped the Blue Marble picture. It was the last time that astronauts, not robots, were on a lunar mission — since then, no people have gotten far enough away from Earth to take a photo like it. -- Text from The Writer's Almanac (12/07/2013)

Another iconic photo of our planet known as Earthrise was taken on December 24, 1968 by Apollo 8. Here is NASA's recreation of that event.

(6:00 PM 12/9/1972)
I was about to leave for the bus at eight when Chunk appeared in the Barracuda. It was too wet to work (he's got a job in Laguna) and he came by for the money to buy the tool he needs -- I keep forgetting what it's called [probably a socket wrench]. I gave him $20 for it. He drove me to the Ivanhoe so I got there at 8:30, pro'ly the earliest I've ever started working. Wasn't much to do that day so I had to procrastinate alot. I vacuumed the pool and did some painting. I ate at the Hamburger House again, and Mike gave me money to get him a sandwich which I did.

Left around 4:00. While waiting for the RTD a guy in a van asked me where I got the hat. I told him South Dakota and he decided it was too far to go for a hat. I waited at the RTD terminal for a half hour. Got the Dave bus at 6:30. He got me a cup of coffee. It was a cold day, with temperatures in the lower 50's. I got off the bus and called Chunk, then walked to his apartment. The last half mile I had a ride from a guy who stopped for me. He was about 20, long haired & moustached. He told me the world was all fucked up & I agreed. He was a Capri - ah, Sagittarius he told me after asking what sign I was. Any way, I saw my Honda and played four games of chess, losing 3. Watched the beginning of a Bogart/Hepburn movie (The African Queen) and left at 9:40, walking home. It took me an hour to walk that far [about 5 miles]. It rained most of that night and some the next morning.

1951 Theatrical release poster

TOMORROW: Took a day off and drew a picture

Jan 04 - Tomorrow's going to be rough

Monday, January 4, 1972
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

Today has been a bit aggravating. Last night, Dad said he wouldn't let me drive without the car being insured, but today Mom let me have the car from noon to four, because she's a nice person and because she already promised.

First I drove to school [Newport Harbor High] where I saw the old gang again and I notified them of my intentions -- then I went to Sea Schwinn where I let Dave have my Campi frame, because I didn't have time to sell it. From there I went to the Antique shop, and Betty tried to sell me another goddam radio -- I said I'd think about it, and hurriedly departed, remembering that I'd forgot my money. I was supposed to go back there today, but time ran out.

I returned to school to get Matt so we could go to the Antique shop, but I ran into Shawna -- that resulted in me being side trapped tracked into a trip to Jerry's house (the guy wasn't in), a trip to Sea Schwinn (to ask for a letter of Recommendation from Ed, and to find out about poor sick old Jerry, who is staying at Dale's house), then I went to the bank (with Shawna), withdrew $306.00 and finally (after several hints from Shawna) I went to Grandlydia [my mobile home "estate"] where I attempted to seduce the young lady, and that resulted in a date for tomorrow night. Tomorrow is going to be rough. We're leaving tomorrow.

I visited Matt after going to Grandlydia, and I learned that we've got a passenger on the trip: Dan Huntzinger. That makes three of us, and I've only got $306.00. It'll be almost impossible for me to get the car tomorrow, but if I can manage,  Jan. 5 better go something like this:

I drive Mom to work at 7:30, I go home and pack my garbage in the car and leave a note to my parents explaining my crime, then I go to Coco's to meet Matt and Dan to discuss this whole mess, go to school at lunch to see Meg for my story, go to the Antique place to pick up my glasses (or I'll forget the whole thing and let them keep the five dollar deposit), and after I don't pick up Mom from work, I can go get Shawna and we go someplace to engage in lewd and immoral activities (I've gotta have her back by 10:00 P.M. though), then I wait around for a long time before going to Matt's house to park the car -- then we take off for good. Theoretically... let's see how wrong I am.

Boy! Tomorrow's going to be rough!