Blog

The end of a primitive rite. It’s not that serious, Chuck…… The fire truck was standing by. Someone’s mom took Dan and I to the high school football field to bear witness to the football pep rally the night before the homecoming game. Autumn was leaking in, muscling a chill once the sun set. Loose… Continue reading The Homecoming Bonfire (with Argent and Chuck Prophet)

Cue the theme from ‘Jaws’….. As September crawled, the mid-October Cotillion date glowed on the calender. Terror. Fear in copious quantities. Night Sweats. Growing dread over the Apocalypse . As you no doubt recall, the invite came in summer in a special little envelope with tissue paper and a reply envelope, like a wedding invite.… Continue reading Cotillion Looms….

Like a ‘where were you when…..’ From backrooms and attics, playing at my tempo. In the days before Easy Rider, Steppenwolf was just another band, a little louder and heavier. No one knew they had made a sixties anthem, until a few years later Dennis Hopper came along. Steve, of course, owns it. He says,… Continue reading Music Memories 1: Steppenwolf 1

The name of this song is ‘Sour Suite’ It still is important to me, but how many songs with ‘sour’ can you find? This ridiculously sour candy took over junior high like an infestation. I always imagined someone’s big brother conned a kid into trying one and in turn the kid (wanting to appear cool)… Continue reading Sour Candy (‘Sweetarts’)–WTF?

In those dark days before there were roads and clothing, a viewmaster was essential for all kids. Ta-da! There it is. The concept actually dates back to the mid-1800’s. Famous civil war photographer Matthew Brady churned out a lot of what was called ‘stereo cards’ (two pictures side by side, slightly off centered) that, when… Continue reading The Viewmaster: 60’s Amusement Pre-MTV

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the late 60s race riot in the city. A very dark chapter in our history. My memory of it was that it was actually started by cops arresting black people, after a bunch of white rednecks started a brawl. It wasn’t surprising giving the tenor of the… Continue reading The Race Riot–Death to my Hometown

A bit of the old ultra-violence, my Droogs. Child-on-teacher violence? HA! In those days, teachers straightened you out and you’d sit and take it. Parents shrugged. I’m not so foolish to think that this hadn’t gone on for years all over the country. And we were just middle class nudniks, not battle-hardened kids from the… Continue reading Classroom Violence a la 60s: Teachers on Students

The Gorilla Referee So the Foon hired the retired ex cop, Mr. Brown. A short, old guy with a buzzcut built like a fireplug. He never smiled. Gradually, I realized he, too, had a jag on against rich boys and girls. His job description: break up cliques, ensure everyone found a seat, and remove idle… Continue reading Lunchtime II

If you remember, the cafeteria was in the elementary building, so you had to walk up two flights, cross the bridge, then down 3 flights. I’m sure the stairwell racket invoked images of stampeding cattle. Ya! Get ’em up, Move ’em Out!! Rawhide!!! You have to realize that lunch was a 360-degree change from carrying… Continue reading Ahhhh, Lunch Time: Table Politics

With the coming of the 70’s, we stake our own claim. It just kind of happened organically. Words we just stopped using, new ones taking over. ‘Groovy’–gone. You could use ‘groove’ describing music, but parties, girls, clothes were not groovy. ‘Hip’ was on its way out; in another two years, no one would say it.… Continue reading Time to ditch those 60’s expressions!