NOVEMBER 1968: BRISCOE QUAD: FALL SEMESTER: ROOM 1017::___::.......Music that dominated floor November 1968: little green apples AWFUL, fire-arthur brown (actually, I never noticed this song until Ken bought the album so maybe I didnt notice it until Early 1970!, SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME, susie Q, PIECE OF MY HEART- a lot of guys had this album with the weird R.Crumb cover, for once in my life, PLUS the Sept and Oct leftovers,,,, THE LONG WALK BACK FROM STANDARD STORES: I am guessing that this happened in November due to the cold. On a Saturday I walked all the way out from Briscoe to the Standard Store supermarket at the COLLEGE MALL. I vaguely recall pushing a wagon around and buying some things. It was the only time I went grocery shopping while at Briscoe- at least for a LOT of groceries. I figured I would worry about how to get it all back later just as I did with suitcases on trips. They only had PAPER BAGS in those days. So here I am leaving the mall with all this stuff and Briscoe so far away and even uphill at the end. I guess I had three or four bags and they were mostly CANS AND BOTTLES as we were not allowed to have refigerators. So here I am trying to hold UP all these heavy paper bags all that distance. I had to put them down every block or so as my arms hurt. I had to balance them and then put them down without dropping them. So I somehow walked back along East Third Street from the mall. Then I eventually got to FEE LANE. My route in between I dont recall. But I sure recall FEE LANE. I was hurting and tired as it was and NOW I was going UPHILL! And then it stated to SNOW! And it was cold and I wasnt dressed for it. I recall as I got closer to Briscoe I would put one or two packages down on whatever I could while carrying the others up the hill, putting them down, and then going back for the others. It took me FOREVER to get home. I very much recall stopping at a place down FEE LANE near FOSTER and putting the bags on some stone fence to rest. There were times on the way that I was seriously thinking of just abandoning most of the crap. But it continued to snow- not a lot but just enough to stick and make it slippery uphill to boot and to cloud my glasses so Id have to stop and clean them off. I finally made it. If not for the snow i would have guessed this to be Oct 68, not Nov 68. One of the things I had in a bag was the first SOFT MARGARINE I ever bought. I planned to put it between my window and the screen on the tenth floor so it would keep cold. But it warmed up and I only got to eat a little of it before it SEPARATED. I dont think heat separates it nowadays but it sure did then. Guess I must have had some bread as well. And bottles of baby food,,, NOVEMBER 1, 1968: US HALTS ALL BOMBING OF NORTH VIETNAM (To help HHH get elected),,, LBJ was supported on 75% of votes in 90th congress (Due to 64 landslide),,, USSR launches Cosmos 252 (They were launcing them every few days in Oct/Nov 68),,, NOVEMBER 2,1968: 2,000 Jews left Poland since March,,, HHH rapidly narrowing gap with RMN,,, ______ELECTION DAY!! TUESDAY NOVEMBER 5, 1968: This was a hell of a big deal in 1968. I recall eating in the OTHER lunchroom that day for some reason and standing on the line at the very end with my tray where the coffeee was and wondering if HUMPHREY would pull it off and beat NIXON or if WALLACE would throw it into the House of Reps. I recall Adam, who was black and is now a physician, asking me who I wanted and Im sure I offended him by telling him that I wanted Wallace to throw it into the House of Reps as I didnt like the ELECTORAL SYSTEM (Now that I understand the math behind it I support it) But we all stayed up all night following it and I recall everyone going back and forth in the hall. Nixon had been way ahead but day by day HHH was catching up. Luckily, being a time zone west I had an hour less to wait for all the returns. But it really went down to the wire in the middle of the night before NIXON squeaked it out,,, Republican Edgar Whitcomb beat Lt Gov R. Rock for Governor, Birch Bayh re-elected over Ruckelshaus for Senate, Madden, Brademas, Bray, Myers, Zion, Hamilton, Jacobs re-elected. ...... WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 6: ______THURSDAY NOVEMBER 7: UN calls on GB to use force against Rhodesia,,, US reports 150 US dead for Oct 27- Nov 2,,, _______FRIDAY NOVEMBER 8, 1968: ________SATURDAY NOVEMBER 9, 1968: NYT: "STRONG QUAKE STRIKES 22 STATES IN MIDDLE WEST AND SOUTH!!! No casualties or damage repoted. Quake centered near Mt Carmel, Illinois (Note: I went to Mt Carmel Church in Astoria, Queens), HEAVIEST QUAKE SINCE 1944!" I was drinking the night before and I awoke to see the horizon reeling in the distance and I thought it was a hangover. Note: That means I had moved my bed from having the headboard against the window to across the room next to the door and facing the opposite direction as I had it before my pillow got stolen. I then groggily walked down to Vals room and he was in there with someone else and he asked me if I felt the quake. He and i then walked down to the Geology Bldg to see the seismograph they had behind a glass panel near the entrance and it had GONE OFF THE ROLL and the needle was stuck off it. There were a couple of other people there just before us. I dont recall the rest of that day. 2-3-2000,,, ________SUNDAY NOVEMBER 10: Union Jack lowered forever in Rhodesia,,, ______ARMISTICE/VETERANS DAY: Monday, Nov 11,1968.:: THIS wasnt merely Armistice Day; it was the FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY of Nov 11, 1918 when the First World War ended. But nobody cared about war anniversaries anymore due to VIETNAM,,, TUESDAY NOVEMBER 12, 1968: US says it will place three Astronauts around moon before Christmas,,, WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 13,1968: HR HALDEMAN named special asst to the President,,, NOVEMBER 14, 1968: Yale to admit women in 1968,,, JOHN EHRLICHMAN named as counsel to the president,,, ///// Among all the previous were countless student anti-war demonstrations and takeover of college buildings in the USA and other countries. And the USSR was putting up satellites every two,three days,,,2-1-00 ///// ..... ///// SOMETIME IN NOVEMBER 1968 MY PARENTS MOVED TO YORK,PA FOR GOOD. MY BIRTHDAY BLACK DEPRESSION WAS BAD ENOUGH SO ITS A GOOD THING I DIDNT ALSO REALIZE WHAT CATASTROPHES WERE TAKING PLACE BACK IN ASTORIA AND YORK: A bunch of kids on the block led by Dales younger brother Wayne broke into our basement and stole most of my belongings. All sorts of old collector stuff that would be worth a fortune today. Most of my thousands of comic books I kept every one of since I was a kid including most of the #1 Edition of the MARVEL titles and Superman since 1955 plus a few from the 1940s. AND all my old toys of the 1950s and my collection of board games from the 50s and 60s. Gone forever!!!!! And moving to York destroyed my parents finances forever. Neither one of them ever got a 'real' job again. DOWN from Upper Middle Class to minimum wage grunt jobs from then on to this. __________ ///// GENERAL: In Nov 1968: Really followed Joe Namath and Jets, Vaguely followed ABA, had bad ulcer I took medicine for, worried about money, grades, success,,, insomnia, Draft over head,,, Vietnam,,, Wondering how I could ever afford to get married and if all girls divorced by then when Catholics cant marry divorced women,,, worry, worry, worry, How the hell could I ever afford a car or a wife and kids when i couldnt even figure out how to pay for all the college everyone expected me to pay for? How can one simultaneously get tens of thousands of dollars for college, get good grades in something like Astrophysics, get a car, get married, have kids??? How can one go to college which means youre not working and yet have an income for all these things??? 1-29-00,,, ///////_______ FRIDAY NOVEMBER 15,1968: Dr. D. L. Sutton named President of IU, HB Wells was acting President since Stahr resigned July 7, 1968 because he was sick of the anti-war people. 2-1-00 , ________THE SATURDAY NOVEMBER 16, 1968 HOME FOOTBALL GAME WHERE WE WERE TRAPPED IN THE ELEVATOR: This had to be that day. Ken and I got back to Briscoe B right when the football crowd was there. I wanted to show him the trick I pulled on it weeks earlier. We pushed the down button so the crowd would let us get on alone. Then on the way up I opened the doors just a little to pass the first floor and up we went while the crowd screamed. Typical 1968 'boress'. But there was also someone else in the crowd who knew how to pop the doors. So he popped them on the First Floor and the elevator stopped immediately betwen floors. I think either between 6 and 7 or 5 and 6. So we are between floors and we cant get the doors open. We call for help and one guy out on the upper floor says he'll bring some help. The wag then comes back and throws packages of saltines between the doors and squirts a water pistol in for water. Now we are on our own. Then he tells us someone will rescue us on Monday. But we eventually get the doors open enough to get out which was scary as we could have fallen down the shaft or the elevator could have moved and cut us in two,,,,, On that same day the baseball owners voted to start the 1969 World Series on Oct 11, 1969 due to the new playoff system. Little did I know my Mets would be in that Series,,, ______THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21: Fresco Thompson of LA Dodgers dies,,, ________THE HEIDI GAME: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17,1968: Jets were beating Oakland in final minute, NBC switched to run Heidi movie and Oakland got two TDs to win! 1-11-00 ,,,, MONDAY NOVEMBER 18, 1968: Czech Pres Dubcek admits had met with Brezhnev on Nov 15 in Warsaw,,, Heavy fighting around Danang,,, Student disturbances, student strikes,,, NOVEMBER 19,1968: UN GENL ASSEMBLY VOTES 58-44 TO EXPEL TAIWAN FOR RED CHINA,,, french have had trouble with the Franc,,, Black Panthers in confrontations,,, NOVEMBER 20, 1968: 78 miners trapped in West Virginia,,, ______ NOVEMBER 21, 1968: MAJOR FIGHTING AT DANANG,,, Negro students ransack administration bldg in Wisconsin,,, US SIGNS APOLOGY FOR "INVADING" NORTH KOREAN WATERS WITH USS PUEBLO WHILE PUBLICLY DISAVOWING IT IN ORDER TO GET MEN BACK,,, ______ FRIDAY NOVEMBER 22, 1968: N.Korea releases Pueblo crew,,, Enoch Powell, GB right-winger has been in news,,, US underground test in Nevada,,, "The Day Kennedy was Shot" published,,, This was the 5th anniversary of it and was still a very big thing especially as it also happened on a Friday,,, ________THE CHAIN GAME 1968:. ______SATURDAY NOVEMBER 23,1968. 1-11-00. Wouldnt you just know it: The most important game of 1967 was the Purdue game but it was the only game to fall during a vacation so it was the one game I missed. But this year, when IU wasnt going anywhere the game was played before Thankgiving vacation started. I was in my room li______SUNDAY NOVEMBER 24, 1968: Student unrest causes Egypt to close all universities,,, 2-1-00,,, ______ MONDAY NOVEMBER 25, 1968: "The Arms of Krupp" published,,, Upton Sinclair Dies,,, _____ NOVEMBER 26, 1968: S.Viet says it will participate in the Paris peace talks,,, _______ WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 27, 1968: Warrant issued for Eldridge Cleaver,, 2-1-2000,,, ______WENT HOME FOR THANKSGIVING 1968:.Well, this was it. NOW we were fully Yorkers. When I left Astoria, Queens in early Sept 1968 I left my Astoria home for the last time forever. Between then and Thanksgiving Vacation my parents had quit their NYC jobs and moved everything we owned to York,Pa. For some paranoid reason I always packed two suitcases to overstuffing and had to sit on them. Then Id get stuff to read and eat or whatever and always wound up lugging way too much stuff back and forth. Packing was always an ordeal. I guess I took the bus from Bloomington to Indianapolis and then I guess I flew stand-by, half-fare from there to Baltimore (or it could have been Harrisburg). I guess I may have changed planes in Pittsburgh. I KNOW I got off the bus at night at the Greyhound station and it was dark and I carried my bags down South George Street. Was I too broke for a cab? Was I being frugal? But I know my parents werent expecting me. I had a hard time with all my stuff I was carrying for some reason and I would carry some down George Street and then go back and get the rest and then walk past my other stuff. I did this all the way down George at night with no thought of crime. I had no idea they had a race riot in Summer 1968. I didnt know that until the 90s!. I thought it was all just as safe as 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967. I got to the Newstand that was at Boundary Ave for many years and the guy was getting close to closing up. I asked him if he'd watch my stuff in front of his shop while I carried the rest down a ways but he turned me down. So I kept doing it all the way to Cottage/George. Then I did it slowly and painfully west on Cottage Place. FINALLY, I made it to the front porch which was in perfect condition in a FAMILY neighborhood that was quiet then. I fumbled for my key while noticing the lights were off. I was wondering all the way there whether my parents were there or still in New York City and I was thinking that I may have guessed wrong. I finally got the door open and who is on the other side but my father holding the red metal put-together shovel above his head. He thought I was a burglar as I told them I probably wouldnt be able to afford to come home..... _______ THANKSGIVING DAY, THURSDAY NOVEMBER 28, 1968: I guess we ate turkey that Thanksgiving. Im sure that I must have run into Viola and Loralee and that they were both rotten and snotty towards me as they could always hide behind my father. (Didnt they ever think that Id outlive my father or just get older and tell them where to go? Dont stupid nasty reptile people ever look ahead? ) I probably watched the parade in NYC on TV and part of the football games. Sure I was downtown a lot. Downtown York was still great in 1968. It would be half-empty by Thanksgiving 1969. 1-11-00, 1-29-00 ,,, FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 1968: 160 died in Vietnam during Nov 17-23,1968,,, Black Panthers allegedly attack police station,,, West Virginia miners left for dead,,, _____ SATURDAY NOVEMBER 30, 1968: Protestants and Catholics clash in Armagh, N.Ireland,,, HEW says Welfare must provide legal asst,,, ..... ,,,____ ___BACK TO COLLEGE AFTER THANKSGIVING 1968: This was my first return to college from York,Pa and I dont recall how I went. Plane from Olmstead Airport in Harrisburg? Allegheny to Pittsburgh? Down to Baltimore-Washington Airport? Greyhound bus? I think I even took the train a few times from Harrisburg to Indianapolis. Packing was an overstuffed ordeal as always. I should look up the weather in York during that Thankgiving vacation.......
DECEMBER 1968:::___:::. Music that dominated the floor in December 1968: ABRAHAM,MARTIN and JOHN, BOTH SIDES NOW, MAGIC CARPET RIDE, WICHITA LINEMAN AWFUL! plus the music of the previous months. Lots of DOORS stuff from albums. Val, Ken and I were into the DOORS and the MOTHERS OF INVENTION,, WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN, WHITE ROOM, MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS, I heard it through the grapevine,,,,, RETURN TO BRISCOE FROM THANKSGIVING VACATION: This had to be in early December as Turkey Day was Nov 28, probably the latest it could be. It was always good to get back. I either took the bus down from Indy or shared a cab with other IU people. If I took the bus it meant a cab from the Greyhound station. Despite what a political ad in 1967 said I recall NO buses in Bloomington or else I would have been taking them to and from the Greyhound to the dorms. NOW there is a bus that stops right near the Greyhound on tenth street and heads East into the campus. It was always good to get back to Briscoe and kid around with Val and Ken after my obnoxious relatives in York,Pa. And we'd have a day or two before classes to run around and maybe have all-night bull sessions. .... ______DEC 1,1968: Israel/Jordan exchange heaviest artillary fire since 1967 war,,, ______DEC 2: NIXON ANNOUNCES KISSINGER WILL BE HIS SPEC ASST FOR NAT SECURITY AFFAIRS,,,, ______Tuesday Dec 3,: Summons for Ian Paisley of militant Protestants of N.Ireland,,, ______ Dec 4: Paul McCracken to be Chair of Council of Econ Advisors,,, BASEBALL TO LOWER PITCHERS MOUND AND STOP THE 1963-1968 "ERA OF THE PITCHER",,, ______DEC 5: Worldwide labor strikes, school strikes, teachers strike, satellites going up,,, , ______Dec 6: GENERAL ECKERT OUT AS BASEBALL COMMISSIONER,,, ___Saturday Dec 7: Pearl Harbor Day: ___Sunday Dec 8: VP Key arrives in Paris for talks,,, THE FIXER movie debuts,,, ______ Dec 9: Theologian Karl Barth dies,,, William Scranton has been in Middle East for weeks for Nixon,,, _____Dec 10: ______ Dec 11: NIXON ANNOUNCES CABINET led by Sect State Wm P. Rogers,,, Dec 12: Tallulah Bankhead dies,,, strikes and boycotts,,, _____ Dec 13: SI HAYAKAWA CLOSES SF STATE UNIVERSITY DUE TO STUDENT DISORDERS,,, US and Mexico officially exchange territory,,, USFDA warns about artificial sweeteners,,, _____Dec 14: Moshe Dayan meets Nixon in NYC,,, Biafra relief plan,,, ______ DEC 15: HHH to teach in Minnesota,,, _____ DEC 16: J Edgar Hoover to remain,,, FBI says crime up 19% from 1967,,, First synagogue in Spain in 600 years,,, _____ Dec 17: ______ Dec 18: USSR undergrd nuke test,,, FBI arrests 32 for fraudulent National Guard papers to avoid the draft,,, two missile sites chosen for ABMs,,, ____Dec 19: Socialist Norman Thomas dies,,, US nuke test,,, now over 30,000 us deaths in Vietnam,,, MICHAEL BURKE #1 CONTENDER FOR NEW BB COMMISSIONER, CHUB FEENY NUMBER 2,,, ______ DEC 20: John Steinbeck dies,,,, ______DECEMBER 21, 1968: US LAUNCHES APOLLO 8 THREE ASTRONAUTS TO ORBIT MOON,,, VP Key officially 'recognizes reality' of National Liberation Front,,, ______________ ///// GENERAL DECEMBER 1968: Followed Namath and Jets for years,,, College mall being decorated for Xmas,,, Im sure we did a lot of hard partying in Dec 1968 as mid-term were in October and Finals wouldnt be until late January 1969,,, shouting matches with McNutt,,, Vietnam,,, Draft worries,,, ulcer medicine,,, money worries,,, insomnia,,, following the ABA vaguely,,, rushing back and forth between Briscoe and Swain, especially for lunch,,, None of the adults pushing me for life to go to college, be a scientist, get a car, have a wife, have kids, etc. ever told me how to PAY for it all. How does one GO to college if one cant be in two places at the same time to work for an income? How could I spend all my money for OUT-OF STATE HIGHER FEES and yet have money for a car and family of my own while studying and attending classes instead of having a full-time job??? THAT did not help my ulcer.///// ........ ______CAROLERS 1968: 1-12-00:: I dont recall if this was before or after the Xmas party. Ken,Val and I were on the 10th floor and we heard Carolers below. Ken and Val and some others surprised me by going down to be with them. Naturally I stayed up on the tenth floor in the lounge alone. I then opened the window and yelled down to the large crowd: BAH HUMBUG!!!! Then I heard silence instead of singing and wondered what happened. Suddenly I heard a lot of voices at once yell in unisom: "KARWICKI SUCKS!!!" My God! I thought they got them to come after me and throw me in the snow or in the Jordan 'River' (7' across and a foot deep). So I ran to my room and locked and barricaded it.,,,,, ......__________ BORESS CHRISTMAS PARTY 1968::: Everyone was supposed to get a 'boress' Xmas present that was something crude. I did a quick one in a box with two gumdrops and a hotdog. To decorate the Lounge for the 1968 Xmas party we were all in there one day when the wild guy came in with a tree that he chopped off someones front lawn right in front of their house!!!!! This was the same guy with the bus. (Was it also the guy who 'stole' all the fire axes or was that someone else back in Parks-Wright??)) On the day of the party we were all in line to share in chocolate candy from a huge box that the maids got us (The richer floor guys gave them a bunch of money)I think the maids left us each a card. Im there behind? Val and who shows up in the open door but John M. Not with his monkey juice but with a trash can full of water. He throws it and most of it hits Big Val. Val chases him down the hall (other side of the 'A') and then all the way down the stairwell. All the other guys follow to see what will happen. Im left alone in there with another guy from way down the hall. We're alone with the candy. We grab handfuls of it and run back to our rooms to stuff our faces. Later, much later, Im back in the lounge and most of the presents for the party are still there after all the commotion. Val opens mine at random. He says, "Hey, this looks pretty good". I proudly say it was mine. I forget if I was going to give it to him,,, .... ,,,,, _____GOING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS 1968:.... Overpacked and struggled with suitcase again. Flew? Bus? Train? I sure rotated a lot. Probably took bus from 10th/Walnut to Indy and struggled with suitcases. Probably waited with crowd to get on transportation which is always a boring pain,,,1-29-00,,, ______ MONDAY DECEMBER 23, 1968: Ky says S.Vietnam will deal with NLF only after N.Viet troops leave South,,, ______ CHRISTMAS EVE, TUESDAY DECEMBER 24, 1968: THREE APOLLO 8 ASTRONAUTS ORBIT MOON,,, Ct of Inquiry to investigate Pueblo,,, _____CHRISTMAS, WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 25,1968:.. This was our first Xmas as all 'official' residents of York,Pa. Was this the Christmas when I asked for and got Aristotles 'Politics' and his 'Ethics'? Or was that during one of the next few Xmases??.1-27-00 ..______ THURSDAY DECEMBER 26, 1968: At Paris peace talks Communists want one round table while Allied want two separate tables,,, ______FRIDAY DECEMBER 27, 1968: RED CHINA TESTS 8th A-Bomb,,, ______SATURDAY DECEMBER 28, 1968: _____SUNDAY DECEMBER 29, 1968: Jets beat Raiders 27-23 to be AFL champs at last!! On the same day the Colts beat the Browns 34-0 to be NFL champs. The two teams I wanted to go all the way in 1967 now did it a year later! ....._______ MONDAY DECEMBER 30, 1968: 1968 WAS FIRST YEAR THAT USA HAD NO EXECUTIONS,,, FIRST UN SECY GEN TRYGVE HALVDAN DIES,,, ________NEW YEARS EVE 1968/1969: TUESDAY DECEMBER 31,1968.: Well, I was in York,Pa. Dont recall what I did, ....
JANUARY 1969:____ NEW YEARS DAY: WEDNESDAY JANUARY 1,1969: Tanzania tries to get rid of mini-skirts and bell-bottoms,,, ..... ::: BOWL GAMES 1969:.... ,,,,, January 2, 1969: Black power gunman hijacks US plane to Cuba,,, John Kangas gets 4 months for burning US flag,,, ______ JANUARY 3, 1969: Senate Democrats vote to oust Senate Majority Whip Se. Russell Long in favor of Ted Kennedy,,, ______ JAN 4: Nixon names Elliot Richardson to be Undersect of State,,, Spain returns Ifni to Morocco,,, ______JAN 5: HENRY CABOT LODGE TO BE US NEGOTIATOR AT PARIS PEACE TALKS,,, ______ JAN 6: SF State Univ open for first time in 3 weeks,,, _______ JAN 7: TRIAL OF SIRHAN SIRHAN OPENS IN LA,,, ______JAN 8: ,,, ______JAN 9: ARMSTRONG AND ALDRIN CHOSEN FOR MOON TRIP,,, USAF study concludes that UFOs arent aliens,,, US college student hijacks US plane to Cuba,,, _______ JANUARY 10, 1969: ,,, JANUARY 11, 1969: ______ JANUARY 12, 1969: SUPERBOWL 1969: After all the years of following the Jets, even BEFORE Joe Namath, they FINALLY make it all the way to the SUPERBOWL. I watch it in the room right next to the lounge on the right which, I think was Kens room. He was in there with me and some others. We see Namath squash the Colts who were 13-1. When its all over and the Jets bring in their scrubs the Colts bring in Johnny Unita who gets a meaningless touchdown to stop the shutout. I liked Unitas, too and wished he could have played in 67 or 68. He never once won when I wanted him too but this time I was glad he didnt. ______ JAN 13: Supreme Ct rules college deferments are legal,,, US forces fight off Cong attk in Meking Delta,,, ______ JAN 14: Reports indicate that Nat Gd Commander Torrijos holds the real pol power in Panama,,, S.Viet Premier Van Huong says US can begin grad withdrawl from Yiet,,, Convicted US spy Morton Sobell released from prison after 17 yrs,,, US GNP grew by 9% in 1968,,, Jan 15: Us has 2 nuke tests,,, LBJ presents 6th and last buget, less for Viet War,,, US Justice dept has been after the South for weeks, months?,,, ______JAN 16: In Paris both sides finally agree on table theyll use for Viet peace talks,,, USSR performs first SPACE DOCKING and transfer of personnel,,, NYT reports mass migration from city to country took place during Cultural Revolution,,, JAN17: Japans 1968 balance of payments reach all time high,,, Roy Cohn indicted on bribery, conspiracy, extortion,,,______JAN 18: In final report to Congress Def Sect Clark Clifford saya USSR missiles went from 250 in Summer 1966 to 900 in Sept 1968,,, JAN 19: Militants have been occupying a Tokyo University bldg,,, ______Jan 20: 100,000 students rally to honor Jan Palach who set self on fire in Prague to protest Soviet takeover,,, NIXON INAUGURATED PRESIDENT OF US,,, Ct of Inquiry over Pueblo Incident opens, Cmdr Lloyd Bucher 1st witness,,, RFKs 'Thirteen Days' published,,, ______JAN 22: US discovers cong tunnel complex,,, Paul Volcker becomes Undersect for monetary affairs,,, "The Bitter Woods" (Battle of Bulge) by John Eisenhower published,,,, satellites still going up regularly,,, ______JAN 23: French students seize admin bldg at Sorbonne,,, Prof Patrick Moynihan appted pres asst for Urban Affairs,,, ______ JAN 24: Student rioting in Pakistan,,, US Navy deserter hijacks plane to Cuba,,, Kenyans occupy Nairobi University,,, Italy recognizes Red China,,, Czech CP First Sect warns students to not provoke Russians during Jan Palach funeral,,, ______JAN 25: Conservative Pty leader Heath calls for less non-white immigration,,, Palach burial,,, Mao seen in public for 1st time in two months,,, _____JAN 26: Czech police disperse Palach demonstrators,,, Civil Rgts leader Edwin Pratt shot to death,,, coal miners demonstrate against Black Lung disease in WV,,,, Susan Sontags 'Trip to Hanoi" published,,, ______JAN 27: Red Cross gives up trying to fly to BIAFRA from Guinea,,, Palach demonstrations,,, Australia to send wheat to Red China,,, plane hijacked to Cuba (This was all when I was riding them),,,, _____Jan 29: GB to nationalize all major seaports,,, Nixon to go to Europe,,, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR ALLEN DULLES DIES IN DC,AGE 75,,, ______Jan 30: 400 West German students on rampage against US,,, fed cts still attacking southern segregation,,, NIXON DIRECTS DEFENSE DEPT TO DEVELOP PLAN FOR ALL VOLUNTEER ARMY,,, ______ JAN 31: Second round of Kennedy tariff cuts go into effect,,, Westinghouse to build atomic reactor for S.Korea,,, ct order uphold busing in MtVernon, Ny,,, plane hijacked to Cuba,,, Fri 2-4-2000 /////_____///// GENERAL January 1969: Ulcer, gelusil medicine, Vietnam draft, depression, worry, nightmares, insomnia, money troubles, how ever get married?, when could I ever afford a car and a normal life with all these college expenses???,,,1-29-00,,, ..... MUSIC that dominated the floor in January 1969: TOUCH ME, hooked on a feeling, stormy, crimson and clover AWFUL, BOTH SIDES NOW, everyday people, going up the country, I started a joke, build me up buttercup AWFUL, and lots of DOORS and MOTHERS OF INVENTION and Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour, Lonely Hearts Club Band, Yellow Submarine cuts and late 1968 music still on radio and still played on stereos.////// GENERAL: ulcer, gelusil, chinese PJs, bull sessions, walks to mall, worry, Draft, Vietnam, insomnia, nightmares, ABA, racing back and forth to eat between Briscoe and Swain, following Namath and Jets, 1-29-00 ,, age 19,,, ///// Sometime in January 1969 I walked into Kens room by the lounge and I think it was Bob T. (or someone else while he was there) trying to get me to say bad things about some people. I guessed something was up especially as a)I had that tape recorder in 1967 at college and b)in 1967 that guy Steve Z was hiding in the suitcase closetr above the clothing closet. So I let them have it. I went out of my way to say everything nasty that I could think of and Bob saw I must have guessed what was going on so he threw in the towel and admitted it. It was up there, alright... ,,,,,______ FINAL EXAMS 1969:.. Im sure I pulled some all nighters here. And was bent over in the toilet stall with my ulcers burning at 3am with Finals the next morning each day. And remember reading that graffiti on the stall walls that was still there in Nov 1991 and showering to keep awake. Studying in my room but only after hours of it in an empty Swain West room. Usually 221. I pulled out so many classes at the last minute when my ruined attention span could live again for a short while. Many months of College Physics for Physics majors in a couple of nights of intense studying,,, ,,,,, ___ FINALS END: At some point John M. learned he was going to flunk out and his father had NO idea. So when his father showed up to bring him home John M. had to tell him it was for good and EVERYTHING had to be taken out of the room. I was down the hall by Vals door when Val told me that John M. was right then telling his father and what a shock it would be. Very good chance he'd wind up in Vietnam!! in bloody 1969 1-29-00,,, ______BACK HOME FOR SEMESTER BREAK 1969:. Had to fight with my suitcases at the last second again. Bus to Indianapolis for over one hour. From there to? Bus to York? Train? Plane? Always an ordeal, especially as everyone travelled at the same time and seats were tight. No fun after the first few times in 1967,,, 1-29-00...
FEBRUARY 1969:::___::: ______RETURNING TO COLLEGE FOR WINTER SEMESTER: 2-1-00: I dont recall how I got back. Might have been from Olmstead Airport near Harrisburg to Weir Cook in Indianapolis with a stop at the Pittsburgh Airport where the red Calder mobile hanging from the ceiling and all those stores and theatres were. I know that I was at the Pittsburgh Airport numerous times before I was ever in their Greyhound bus depot because I recall wondering a couple of times if I had time to somehow get to Pittsburgh from the airport just to look around the city for the first time. Dont know if I took the bus from Indy to Bloom or if I shared a ride in a cab from the airport to Bloomington. ... ,,,,,________REGISTRATION FEB.1969:. I dont recall what courses I signed up for other than Diffy Q (Differential Equations) but I must have also signed up for one in German and one in Physics for Physics majors... /////// MUSIC dominating floor in February 1969: this magic moment, you showed me, PROUD MARY, SON OF A PREACHER MAN AWFUL!, traces, dizzy AWFUL plus the preceding ones mentioned,,,, ,,,,, _______DROPPING OUT 1969:. 2-1-00: This was the semester I had already paid for everything but later decided to drop out. I went through Registration and went to my courses for a few days or whatever. My Differential Equations course was a monster. Unlike today where everything has been 'dumbed down' we had to know how to do ALL the 'proofs' which is much harder than to just do the equations which are hard enough as it is. And we also had to know how to do 'proofs' of new things thrown at us. I could not believe how crowded the DIFFY Q class was for such a difficult subject. Every damn Physics, Math, Astro, and Chem major, every future scientist on campus must have all been in the same one. We must have had fifty people in there with all the little chair-desks crammed together and I got stuck way in the back and slightly to the left. The prof had a terrible accent (all the math profs did, the tougher the course, the less they could speak English) and he mumbled and he mumbled quickly and he scribbled higher equations on the board so fast I couldnt even copy it fast enough much less understand what he was saying. What a nightmare. And, although I dont even recall being in my other classes I recall that they had also gotten even worse as well. All this on top of my worrying myself sick into a worsening ulcer as it was. (Speaking of Freudian nightmares, for DECADES I had a recurring dream of being in a crowded room with something tough going on up front that I had to know and couldnt hear it and a test was about to be given yet I had completely forgotten being in this class in early 1969 as I was only in it for a week or ten days. Which would equal, I forget, 5-10 classes? It wasnt until my yearly trips to Bloomington in 1991,92,94, and 95 that I recalled being in such a class for a little while. Then I got ahold of an old schedule of classes and looked it up and it turned out to be the same room I had the 1967 English Comp class in that I got sent to the dean for for not showing up. After actually going there and sitting in my old seat alone the nightmares I had about that class for about 25 years suddenly ended.). At some point I realized that there was NO possible way I could make it through another semester as physically and mentally sick as I was. So I walked over to a phonebooth across from where the Tote Kitchen/Donut shop was on East 4th Street a few yards from about 100 South Walnut Street and I phoned home telling my parents I couldnt make it. My father was his usual cruel self (Most of his family are reptiles who dont ever have such problems as they never tried to improve themselves in the first place) and for the first time in my life I hung up on him. But NOW I had to REQUEST time off from school or lose my TUITION (Out of state rates) and immediately get drafted and sent to Vietnam which was even worse!). So I went to see someone. I think it was two adults and I had to fill out a form and write why I wanted to. I sat at a table in a fancy room next to the fireplace room by the floor-plate room and I wrote it all down. I later got a call from them to come on over. Then the two were all over me as they said that what I wrote was just what they always wanted to see from a student who was leaving under the conditions I was as most just leave for good without telling why. Finally, they found someone who could articulate why they needed time off. So it was all okay and I would get my tuition back AND the draftboard would be told that they thought I wasnt military material but Id probably still have to go through the physical later on anyway. So that was it for my 1969 stint in college. I recall my last day in Briscoe. Ken and Bucky were in a room together and I left my bags at the elevator doors to go back and get even more stuff from my room 1017. I had left my hat on the top of the suitcases and they swiped it as a joke. I forget how I tried to get it back but I had finally given up and headed back to my suitcases and it was back on top of them. I dont recall the cab ride from Briscoe to the Greyhound at N.Walnut and 10th St or the ride up which must have been on a rather empty bus as it was not vacation day. I dont know if I flew home or took the train. Actually, I dont think I was reduced to taking the bus that distance until late 1971. This MAY have been the time I was in some sort of vehicle from Harrisburg? to York? and was sitting next to an Australian man discussing Vietnam and how both countries were in it.