Oct 04 - Satirical Employment Application***

Wednesday, October 4, 1972 - Page 278
LOCATION: Anaheim & Newport Beach, California

Original 1965 theatrical poster (wikipedia info)

(8:30 PM 10/4/1972)

Worked today after catching a bus at 8:00 and arriving at the Ivanhoe at 10:00. Mike was off at a meeting -- I vacuumed the pool & inspected rooms, among other things. Mom came to pick me up at 5:55 as usual. Chunk came over, said a friend of his was selling a Honda 100 motorcycle for $75, so I can have it.

Then he & me rode on his bike to his place (I called Tim before leaving to see if I should return his chess set, but he said it wasn't necessary), and we played 4 games of chess whilst watching T.V. ("Mister Moses," a Robert Mitchum thing). We won 2 apiece. The last one was dubious and mom came by to pick me up at 10:00 before its completion. She told me Winnie had broken up and was off at college somewhere (Santa Monica or some place like that). I got to sleep too late, after 11:00 sometime.

Incidentally, the "Application for Employment" hereto attached was written whilst I was in room 113 Tuesday. I gave it to L&M and left. Mike read it & laughed so hard he cried. I din't think it was that funny. Had to write another one Wednesday for real.

TOMORROW: Learning the job

Jul 16 - Swimming holes in the wilderness

Sunday, July 16, 1972 - Page 198
LOCATION: Bethlehem, South Dakota

7:30 PM
I got up around 10:30. Just about everybody was at mass, so I wandered off on my own, in search of the legendary swimming hole everyone's been talking about. I walked to the creek barefooted over rough terrain. I'm trying to develop a thick sole on my feet so I can go barefoot painlessly. Ouch. I'm still working on it.

Anyway, I found Lion's Head where me, John & Bruce had been before, and I followed the creek to search for the other one, reputed to be a 12-foot deep pool with a diving rock. I came upon an adequate swimming area where I decided to stop. I call it White Stream because there's an area in the creek where the current is stronger creating a white streak. There was a pool about 6 feet deep, and I went swimming. My heart wasn't too content because the water was so cold, so I didn't swim long. I tanned most of the time. I tired of that soon and wandered off down the creek, tripping merrily over the stones barefooted.

I found the pool they were talking about. So I returned to White Stream and prepared to leave. Half way up the cliff I noticed several people going to Deep Drop (that name is tentative). They were Jim, Tim, Bruce, Mike, John and Greg. I joined them after a treacherous descent down the cliff. We left at 3:30 and went up to eat dinner. It was a fairly sunny day. -- Fr. Henry beat me in 3 games of chess today, they were good games tho.

9:00 PM
Mom called at 8:30. It may rain tonight -- clouds fill the sky thickly. (And I call myself a riter.)

TOMORROW: Pranking McGovern's Secret Service on my 18th Birthday

Jul 13 - Politics & the Democratic Convention**

Thursday, July 13, 1972 - Page 195
LOCATION: Bethlehem, South Dakota

THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION

George McGovern, South Dakota Senator,
friend of Father Gilbert, and one of the directors
of Bethlehem's Shrine of the Nativity
(see my encounter with him in the July 17 entry)

The 1972 Democratic National Convention was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, on July 10-13, 1972. It nominated Senator George McGovern of South Dakota for President and Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri for Vice President.

Senator Thomas Eagleton of Missouri

Eagleton later withdrew from the race when it was disclosed that he had undergone mental health treatment, including electroshock therapy, and he was replaced on the ballot by Sargent Shriver of Maryland.

Sargent Shriver, statesman & activist

7:30 PM
We got to work late today -- about 10:00 A.M. We usually get started at 8:00 A.M., and finish at 4:30. Today we quit at 3:00 (I finished at 4:30, however). I worked on finishing cement that Tim (the new kid), and Clint (but later Greg) put down. Mixing was Mike, and hauling was John & Greg (but later Clint). We got 40 more feet done today. I'm reading "I'm OK, You're OK" (am now about to read 2nd Chapter). Lyle showed up today at supper. It was another sunny day.

(9:00 AM 7/14/1972)
Quite a few people came today -- besides five nuns, M.R. (that's Mrs. Rogers), Gil, Me, Tom, Tom, Tim, Greg, Bruce, John, Clint, Pearce, Dorothy, & Mike, there were a few temporary people: Lyle, Joe, Alexandria, Julie, Julie, Megan (all together in the same car), and a group with kids and Father Murphy.

Bruce baby-sat for a two & a half-year old kid named Sean, whilst his mother was in the cave. Jim & I assisted for a while, then I started playing poker with Greg. I beat him, just barely, and we got thru at 12:45. The Demo Con is still going -- McGov has his V.P. picked. Greg continues to be anti-McGov even though everyone else in this place is pro (McGovern, incidentally, is one of the inter-denominational directors of this place).

Jim's hand

TOMORROW: Serious cave crawling

Jul 04 - Independence Day stock car races

Tuesday, July 4, 1972 - Page 186
LOCATION: Bethlehem & Rapid City, South Dakota

12:30
[continued from previous page]... and I loaned John $20. It's a smart thing to have people indebted to you.* [Side note: *I take that back. It is now Aug 18, and neither loans have been paid back] We played some more poker, but John did most of the winning. I struggled with this journal Mon. evening, but the interruptions were numerous and I won't go into them. I got to sleep somewhere after midnight.

Today, besides being the 4th, is the 15th anniversary of this establishment, and Gil has been here all that time. I woke up at 10:00, missing mass & breakfast, and I washed my hair and face while talking to Mike Y., who also awoke late. He & Mike N.G., and Tim are returning to Nebraska today. Bye guys. There goes my chess competition. Today will go on -- to be continued (12:46 P.M.)

Notes that show loaned money
that was never repaid

(8:30 AM 7/5/1972)
The guys from Kansas City left too, leaving a hitchhiker here for a while (that's Clint). I got paid $7 -- I get that every week -- gee, how about that. Bruce, John, Brad, Jeff, Clint, Greg, and I went into town to day, stopped at Becker's to see Tom (he's working there temporarily) then we went on to the stock car races at 6:30 P.M. They lasted till around 11:30 P.M., fireworks display included (we were sposed to pick up Tom at 11:00) -- the races were good -- one car ran into the wall, smashing the front, and in a modified race, two cars crashed head on, another was put out of commission, and one more went over the side, off the track. Oddly enough, no one was seriously injured. We fought traffic for a long time to get out, went to Becker's for Tom, and walked across the street to eat (I paid -- It was the same place Matt & I'd eaten in Jan.). Drove up Beth road, barely got through the creek, tore a hole in gas tank, but made it a quarter mile from the cave before it stopped. Walked home.

John (never paid me back)

TOMORROW: The Wrath of Father Gilbert

Jul 02 - The Cave of TIME***

Sunday, July 2, 1972 - Page 184
LOCATION: Bethlehem & Wonderland Cave, South Dakota

PRINCE VALIANT and THE CAVE OF TIME

Writer/Illustrator Hal Foster, in his epic weekly comic-strip "Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur," occasionally ventured into fantasy. Here is a startling 4-page episode in which our daring young hero boldly steps into The Twilight Zone...
(Free instant download: Prince Valiant PDF 8.3 MB)

My father gave me his vintage collection of Prince Valiant comic books when I was 13. These were small reprints of the magnificent full-page tabloid Sunday Comic strips that began in February 1937. I was stunned by this perfect blending of entertaining stories & exquisite art by the masterful Harold Foster. He set a high standard for graphic storytelling that influenced everyone who came after him. I wanted to be like that -- and I dedicated myself to becoming a self-taught artist & writer so I could tell my own amazing stories...

(12:00 PM 7/4/1972)

Sunday was a day of rest so I didn't get up until around lunch. I'm not gonna bother to think of the incidental stuff that happened Sunday -- a few more people came up -- Clint is the only guy I know by name of the new ones. I was asleep when they came so I missed the introductions. I almost got around to writing in this Journal but I was invited to go Truckin' (which means just going for a walk in the woods) -- So Mike Y., Mike N.G., Bruce, Me, John, Tim, Clint, and Brad went walking down Bethlehem Road, heading for Wonderland Cave. We had a walkie-talkie to stay in contact with Tom, but we never managed to communicate through it.

We got to Tim's car, parked past the washed out road, and we drove to a fire trail that connects with Wonderland (on the way we met Gil driving up with a new guy -- Jeff). Bruce stayed at the car to finish reading a comic book while we went on ahead. He tried but failed to catch up, and walked back to Beth, where he tried to contact us on the walkie-talkie, but he didn't succeed.

We all got to the Cave, with me and John, and Mike Y. in the lead. Part of the trail was washed out so we had to climb to the other side of the road. Being from Beth, we got to take a tour of the cave for free -- only Me, John, and Mike N.G. decided to go.

Inside Wonderland Cave

We walked back under clear skies (it had been cloudy before) -- Me, John & Mike Y. & Tim took the trail back -- everyone else cut thru the wilderness, led by Brad. I gave Mike the Psych Test on the way. When we got to Tim's car, Tim was there (ahead of us) along with Tom & Bruce who'd just arrived in the van. We all drove back to Beth in the van, and everyone else was already there. That night, me, John, Mike Y., Bruce, & Mike N.G. played poker. It got down to me, John & Mike Y. & Mike won. Finished by 1:00 A.M.

TOMORROW: My useless dam project

Jun 21 - 1st Day of Summer

Wednesday, June 21, 1972 - Page 173
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!  RA!

7:50 PM
I got to sleep last night about 11:00 whilst listening to 5 or 6 Bill Cosby records -- I fell asleep during the Chicken Heart that Ate New York City. I woke up at 9:43 and organized my room a bit. Today was fairly sunny -- 82° in L.A. -- but now it is overcast (7:54:06). I'm on page 118 in "The Probability Man," and I haven't checked where I'm at in "Man's Rise To Civilization As Shown By The Indians of North America From Primeval Times To the Coming Of the Industrial Age." I wrote down that title from memory so it may not be entirely accurate. Wait a moment, I'll check it --- Hmm. I was slightly wrong. The real title is: "Man's Rise To Civilization As Shown By The Indians of North America From Primeval Times To The Coming Of The Industrial State." But I was fairly close.

Ate Fish 'n Chips today that Mom bought. I called Tim and he's going to his Nephew's birthday party, so I can't pick up my book [high school annual] till tomorrow. Mom and I played 2 and 2/3's games of chess -- I won the first two masterfully, with each move putting her in jeopardy. I had her in the palm of my hand in the 3rd, until Mr. Torres from a real estate place showed up, then I began losing -- the game is up in the air now.*

It's 8:03:43 right now, and Lou Torres is downstairs talking to Mom. And I'm up here trying to think of a way to end this entry, but it seems as if the old creative well has just about dried up completely [handwriting fades as ink runs out]

[side note] *I won that 2/3 game, and we played 3 more... and I won them all! Six in a row -- WOW. 

Jun 18 - Chess: Agony of defeat/thrill of victory

Sunday, June 18, 1972 - Page 170
LOCATION: Newport Beach & Long Beach, California

DAD DAY

(1:00 PM 6/20/1972)
Tim & I woke up at 8:00 A.M. I phoned the Bus Station in Anaheim to check their morning schedules -- Tim and Jim had to leave Sunday, Tim was going to Portland, Oregon, Jim was returning to S.F. Jim and I played a couple games of chess -- he won both games (Arrrgh!). And we all ate breakfast. Me, Mom, Grandpa Bill, Jim & Tim left for Long Beach at around 10:15 to take them to the Bus Station from which they'd go to San Fran. We dropped 'em off in the nick of time, and drove back home.

I went to sleep at about 1:00 P.M. and got up at about 5:00 P.M. and got to work filling up the blank pages of this book. Dad and Larry (Larry & G. Bill are good friends, though they both see things differently) came over to chat, and after a few hours they left. Larry was going to drive Bill home to Torrance where he lives. -- This entry is definitely not gonna be a literary masterpiece -- my pen fell asleep so don't expect much of interest.

On ward ---> They left, and mom & I played chess -- Mom was winning, but I had most of her pieces blocked -- at a critical point, Chunk & Murray dropped by. Murray got his photos, Chunk got his sleeping bag and blankets, and when Mom wasn't looking, Chunk checkmated me. They left, and Mom & I continued our game, and I check mated her. ----

Mar 09 - Mailed new story to Analog

Thursday, March 9,1972 - Page 69
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

10:09 PM
I slept "last night" somewhere between six & seven, then goddup to drive mom to work. Came back, took bath, went to school -- assembly schedule, got Driver's Training Cert., but GPA is at McNally (For insurance). Put $87.00 in Mariners, withdrew $40 from Centinella. Bought stuff at stationery store, got $2.00 of gas. Bought stuff at Sav-on. Drove to Sears to look for a hat -- unsuccessful. Back to school to give Lyons latest yarn -- returned Tim's Flotsam & Jetsam -- saw Peter & Fish. Mary was upset because I said she'd never see me again last time I saw her, so I said I wasn't really there because it was an unofficial visit. Left very soon.

Went back to Grandlydia for the mail. Mailed "Demigod's Demise" to Analog. Went shopping at 3:00 P.M. -- picked mom up at 4:15. Chunk came at 5:30 to paddle (I declined invitation) and I went to sleep at six. Woke up at 8:00 when L & M came over -- they left and I watched TV for a half hour and ate pork chops & dumplings. I'll pro'ly write a few more rejectable stories just to keep a healthy circulation of manuscripts in the mail. I want to collect rejection slips from every magazine in the business. It's a hobby.

Mar 01 - Just tipsy...

Wednesday, March 1, 1972 - Page 61
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

8:30 PM
Let's see, what'd I do today. I finished the burgandy -- I drank half of it last night, and the rest this morning. But I wasn't drunk, contrary to the previous entry's statements here to fore, nor have I ever been drunk or stoned, in the technical sense of those words. Tipsy, yes. But I've always been in full control of my faculties. On occasion, however, I do tend to be pretentiously dramatic. Constantly, as a matter of fact. This morning B-4 she left for work, mom found out the right front tire was flat -- hmmm. How about that. I got up at 8:00 feeling sorry for myself. Which is, I suppose, dumb. So be it.

Campus crowd at Newport Harbor High
The Galleon 1972

Went to school at noon and Mrs. Lyons gave me a favorable review of "Moira-Quest" and she kept the thing to add to her Lyda Archive. It will pro'ly be valuable someday. I'm getting to think the damned story is going to sell. Am I prepared to enter the ranks of the Professionals? We shall see. Mingled with the crowd for a while (I came primarily to let it be known there are no hard feelings between me and Shaw) (Nobody cares) (Anyway) (Least of all me) (Ha!) -- after lunch I talked to Mary on the curb for an hour or so, watching the wild life go by. I walked home at around 1:30. Sun bathed for an hour and saw Mike Johnson paddling. Drove to Terri's to get my report, then to Tim's to get his story which I'm going to plagiarize -- he's the same old Tim. Tarmland is going to war this weekend. He'll win, of course.

Feb 29 - A discouraging Leap Day***

Tuesday, February 29, 1972 - Page 60
LOCATION: Newport Beach, California

5:30 PM
I woke up at 7:00 and drove Mom to work -- we passed the 76 station by C&W's [Chuck and Wendy's] apartment and we saw Chunk in the gas station, staring dazedly out the window. He didn't see us. I drove home and took a bath, got dressed and drove to the 76 station to get the cooler from Chunk (he said he had seen me & Mom), after which I went to the stationery store where I bought three manila envelopes. I returned home to fill the water in the cooler, and mailed the manuscript to Galaxy (I'll get it back though because I used a 6¢ stamp -- it needs 8¢ at least) -- I got the mail and bought eight 8¢ postage stamps. Got my $87 tax refund and a letter from Sue with her picture. Then I went to the bank to deposit ten dollars, then I mailed the $10.00 check to Smithsonian (I got their membership card today -- I mean yesterday), and I drove back home.

At noon I drove to school where I saw Bob Bowman (he was surprised to see me and shook my hand which surprised me cause I don't know him that well) and I asked him if he knew where Matt was. He din't, but I learned that he has moved again -- from Oakwood apts to Tustin. After I talked with him, Mister Fish materialized and I found out Dennis Green had come by the day before (Mister Green is a friend from Junior High who is now at Orange Coast College), and Fish & I went to see Mary Lyons -- she was stunned to see me, so I gave her a copy of Moira-Quest (Mrs. Lyons is an English teacher who I had in my freshman, sophomore and junior years -- she's also a friend of Ray Bradbury and she's an SF buff).

From The Galleon 1972 Yearbook:
English teachers Mary Lyons & Margo Cunningham

We left her and went to the gang on the lawn. Meg ignored me, but she didn't project her beam of suppressed hostility. Saw Mary [Bavry] for the first time in ages, and we have a permanent temporary truce now. Shawna was upset to see me oddly enough -- she showed me a short three-word poem, so I wrote her a shorter one: "The Turbulent Sea" -- MOCEAN. It tickled her fancy. I saw Matt, Dan Huntzinger and Thom Granger, a sleazy lot that's getting a lot sleazier -- Matt's Dad bought him a Datsun. I saw Tim Hourigan for a moment, among another crowd, and Beverly who wanted to kill me even though the grass stains came out. I learned that Tim Hourigan has become a lush. Even he -- All American Boy -- is going downhill. C'est la vie. Tarmland can't survive with a drunk emperor [a reference to Tim's imaginary realm, à la Tolkien's Middle Earth].

Student crowd at Newport Harbor High School
The Galleon 1972

I was surprisingly witty and charming today -- must be the full moon. A new narc appeared while Matt, Huntzinger, someone else, and I were sitting on the lawn after the bell. He took my name, and I said I was going to P.E. right away. I found out that Matt & Dan are going to court tomorrow because of his & my A.P.B. [All Points Bulletin]. Odd thing as I was "going to P.E.," I ran into Mary on the curb with a hyper-sleazy group (perverts, smokers, heads, etc. -- one was definitely stoned), the sleaziest students warm the curbs of the school all day. The gang eventually vanished, leaving me, Mary, and a girl & her girlfriend -- one of whom I had given 50¢ to when Matt, Dan and Me were on the lawn just after lunch. I found out later it was for acid -- she had a dollar. I knowingly remarked the cheaper it is, the cheaper it is. Mary, Them and I discussed my favorite subject -- ME. I learned a lot. Apparently I have a rather unwholesome reputation, which, of course, is entirely inaccurate, but it does, nevertheless, lend some status to me, enabling me to enter the bizarre ranks of the ultra-liberals -- an interesting and sorry lot. I saw Donald and Terry today -- they've become something of an inseparable couple (couple of what I'm not too sure).

Anyway, the gist of the info I got from Mary about Shawna Wood is that she Woodn't -- not tonight or ever. The name of the girl I gave 50 cents to is Rae Lean (at least that's what she said it was), her friend was Jeannie, or something like that. I went to Sea Schwinn and talked with Dave. He sold the Campi for $120.00. He's taking a class in Marketing in college. Jerry only works on Saturdays -- he's a full-time college kid now. I found out a few more things about Shawna at Schwinn -- so I've got more ammunition. Let's see how good my aim is...

Shawna Wood
The Galleon 1972

(9:03 AM - 3/1/1972)
Missed by a mile. She really isn't that kind of girl. Why is everyone I know so virtuous? Such incredible luck.

Before I went to Shawna's, I noticed Matt Gold walking along the street opposite her house. I stopped, and he and me went to Thom Granger's a couple of houses away. We left there shortly (I stopped at Shawna's at seven to tell her I'd be late -- her sister (friend of Meg) saw me for the first time -- she was surprised) and Matt had to go to a house at Galaxy Street for a rehearsal or something. It took half an hour to find it. Then I went to get Shawna, and I established the fact that she Woodn't. It's hard to figure her out. Left at 9:30, or somewhere around there.

I think I'll banish myself from society -- I don't need friends anyway. I am a universe unto myself. Within a week I'll be alone in the world. Awww, how sad. Big deal. Who cares. Not I, said the little green pig. Disregard this stuff -- I'm drunk. People are not worth anybody's attention. Le'me see -- how many friends (or rather "acquaintances") have I got to get rid of. Well, from High School, there's Shawna Wood, Mary Bavry, "Meg Waldron," Robbin, Paula, Dana & Karen Boucher, Terri Sneathen, "Rae Lean," Beverly, Mary Lyons, Bob Rozelear, Shepard Salusky, Master Fish, Timothy Hourigan, Peter Shergalis, Craig David Harvey, Mike Lingels, Thom Granger, Matt Gold, Dan Huntzinger, James Simms, Bob Bowman, and Stan Eastman. From Sea Schwinn, there's Dave Olson, Darryl Eve, Jerry King, and a guy who's name I forgot just now. 80% of those people wouldn't notice I was missing. The rest would pro'ly idly wonder "What happened to good ole Grady," then they'd promptly forget. That's all.

0:00

EXTRA BONUS LEAPDAY

[Temporal Synchronization RESET]