Where Were You In 62?
1962, the world was about to change.
Some of the top songs of 1962
The Lion Sleeps tonight
The Twist
Duke of Earl
Good Luck Charm
Some of the top movies of 1962
Lawrence of Arabia
The Manchurian Canidate
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lolita
The Days of Wine and Roses.
Some of the top books of 1962
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
A Clockwork Orange
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
King Rat
I was in a tropical paradise in Southeast Asia, just passing time.
Where were you in 62?
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I know that some of you are old enough to remember 1962. Those of you who don't, let's just say, ''Times were a changin''
Oh wait, The gift that keeps on giving.
Hiding under my desk in kindergarten waiting for the "big one" during the Cuban Missile Crisis. That whole thing put a damper on my 5th birthday party. To this day I have never forgiven Khruschev.
LOL until may I was in the womb, after that I was being a little asshole ( yep I was born an asshole , I just grew bigger).
''To this day I have never forgiven Khruschev''..I was a little to busy to think much about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but it was a huge scare.
A ''62'' asshole...LMAO
kavi , I was this far , /-----------------/ from being a little turd.:P
Not going to touch that line Mark.
LOL , Ima BAAAAD boy.....
there are no old jokes as long as there are young audiences.
Yes you are a ''BAAAAAD boy''..
I was a freshman in high school, but not having a wonderful time like you were, Kavika. Rub it in, you farging bastage.
'' you farging bastage''...LMAO, you sure have a way with words Grump.
Yes, I was having a wonderful time, so good in fact that I got sent back for a second vacation.
Oh, BTW the country was Vietnam, a true tropical garden spot.
Jan-June -- Daddy had been called up to service for the Berlin Wall Crisis, so he was at Ft. Smith Arkansas, and Mama and I were in Owensboro. He jumped out of a perfectly good airplane, and while HE landed in a rock quarry, his chute didn't, so he broke his leg horribly, to be honorably discharged. I finished 1st grade in Miss Smitha's class, who had also been my mother's first grade teacher, at Longfellow Elementary.
June-July -- Daddy was looking for a job, while working at Gipe Automotive. He landed a big job with Thurmoid, Big T, automotive supply warehouse, and we moved to St. Louis at the end of July.
We got to St. Louis just in time for the atomic bomb drills in schools, which was unheard of in little Owensboro. I walked to school every day over a very scary bridge, that spanned a giant mud creek. The creek had a swirl in it that the little boy next door told me was where a child had stepped in and gotten sucked down, so I was all agog, and terrified. The school's playground was of asphalt, so if you fell down, you were scraped to Bejesus and back. Daddy was gone all the time, and Mama was miserably homesick. Cousin Irene and her son Buddy, the red headed branch of the family, came to visit.
We moved from St. Louis to Kansas City on New Year's Eve. I had strep throat, it was about 17o below zero, and the furnace in the new house was broken and keeping it just above freezing. The movers were drunk and dropped the china cabinet. Daddy promised them a fifth of whiskey if they could unload the rest of the furniture without dropping it.
There was no stove. Unbeknownst to Daddy, the house we rented didn't have a stove, so we ate everything out of a popcorn popper and the electric skillet.
I also remember the songs, " Soldier Boy ", " Twisting the Night Away ", and " Rambling Rose ", which I, in an early form of the inability to hear song lyrics which has afflicted me all my life, named, Rabbit and Rose.
I was stuck in a math book, One Apple plus One Apple, but it was "New Math", my 1st encounter with new math, and I was a lost ball in tall weeds. Personally, I like the Old Math, aka Arithmetic. I read the story of Brown Bruin, and the horse caught in the pond, "Knee Deep, Knee Deep" and "Belly Deep, Belly Deep".
" The Longest Day " came out that year, and we went to the movies to see it. Also, " Hatari " came out and remains one of my favorite movies...
1962, was quite the year for you Dowser. Not so good for your dad. Being a paratrooper myself, I understand what could go wrong.
The two of you would have been dear friends! He tracked elk for a dude ranch in Wyoming-- they went for two weeks on horseback and pack mule out in the middle of nowhere. His trip was freebecause he was the tracker.
The wind kept picking up his chute and dropping him down the steps of the quarry. OUCH! He was in a cast for about 6 months, but was ok, afterwards. I was so glad to see him!
He had a pet Coral Snake, that had the venom taken out. He used to curl it up under his hat, but it didn't like his buzz cut, so it would wiggle out at the most inopportune times... The snake wouldn't eat for anyone but him, and he was in the hospital so long, it starved. His comrades gave it a 21 gun salute and buried it, with a marker, in front of his office on base.
I think that the two of you would have been great friends!
Sure sounds like we would have Dowser. A pet coral snake, my kind of buddy.
He was a lot of fun to be with!
This is as close as I have, handy. 1960:
Flower power wasn't until a bit later... More like the late 60s, I think!
Elvis is good Justice.
Ahhhh, the twist, Chubby Checker was the man.
I believe you Justice. Did she ever make a trip to ''Graceland''?
We all cried when Elvis died... What a shame!
Happy that she was able to go to ''Graceland''. Small or not, I can imagine it was a thrill for her.
9 years old living in the San Fernando Valley.
What were you doing? Were you in little league? Where did you go to school? What kind of car did your folks drive?
It's all in the details, dear Cletus!!! More info, please!!!
Details, details Cletus.
I'd be pissed if I had to grown up in Cleveland Mike.
A mile!!! One stinking mile, geez Mike you gotta do better than that my friend.
I did like the golf club swing. I would have liked to havedone that to my brother.
Long walk!!! Love the details!!!
Although I've been back to St. Louis many times, I haven't seen our old house in over 40 years. Makes no difference, it wasn't the best place to be anyway. It did have a nice tree in the back.
Hmmmm, accident. Ok, I'll let you get by with that Mike. LOL
LOL, Elementary School....damn kids.
Oh, well. That changes everything. Glad you made it back. I didn't know you did two tours of duty. By 65 I was a war protestor. My biggest complaint was that Westmorland, Abrams and Zumwalt were not allowed to run the war like it was a real war. It was run and managed out of Washington by politicians who didn't know the first thing about warfare and that was getting kids killed. I was really pissed with our government. Um.....still am, I figure.
That is true, but the command level were as bad as the politicians. Johnson was actually picking the bombing targets.
I ended up protesting the war as well.
Take a hill at great cost. Give it back. Wait 2 months. Take hill again at great cost. Give it back. Wait 2 months. Take hill again at great cost. It was insane and deadly.
Hal Westmoreland? Of We Were Soldiers?
It made no sense then, and still doesn't.
Hey! I'm doing the best I can! I just turned 58 yesterday!
Turned 8 in October. Living in Amarillo. Listening to: The Ventures; The Ink Spots; Johnny Horton; Ricky Nelson and others I can't remember at the moment. Waiting for summer so we could stay on the farm with my grandparents in New Mexico.
The only picture I can find from that year:
Great photo Steve. Living in the ''Panhandle''...I was in Amarillo last year.
Happy belated Birthday Dowser.
You were darling! Oh My! I would have wanted YOU for a boyfriend, back then... And, please, don't be offended by that, in any way, as I am very happily married and when I was 7, my husband was 3 and WAY too young for me!
Ricky Nelson-- he was great! The Shirelles, Connie Stevens, Connie Francis, Elvis, Chubby Checker, Ray Charles, and on... What fun!
But Elvis ISN'T dead. He's hiding in a little town in Northern Ontario. LOL
Oh, and where was I in 1962? Graduating from Law School.
I was in 4th grade. But I do remember all those songs. I had a transistor radio and it was my lifeline to the world outside the farm.
The only thing I have left in Amarillo is an ex-wife. My mom and her husband live on a farm in Tulia. My brother and I had great times back then. I'm still wearing boots and jeans to this day.
riding the bus to catholic grade school.
How wonderful! I had a Sony radio that Uncle Louie gave me for Christmas! It had a pop up top! Wonderful memory, dear Wheel!
I bet you were a cutie!
No offense taken. My parents had a rather eclectic collection of music, a tradition I keep to this day.
Mine did, too! As did Uncle Louie... LOTS and lots of wonderful music!
pack mule eh? Did he have one of these books?
Manual of pack transportation.
Just click the cover and the pages. Download pdf here.
Ahhhhhh yes, the old reliable transistor radio.
Me to, although it wasn't a transistor, before they were invented. It was our lifeline as well.
Finally, someone as old or older than me...LOL
Thanks Buzz.
Thanks! I'm glad to be alive, and that you are my friend!
I know that you brother thanks you jennilee.
I don't remember much. I was in Little League every year, not a very good player.
I had a good 3rd grade teacher who turned me around into a reasonably decent student.
That's probably around the time I saved my allowance to buy the game Stratego. I liked board games like that.
Your 3rd grade teach than is a good memory. Plus some Little League is another plus.
There are always ''Depends'', for those that have a leakage problem.
"Where were you in 62?"
Answer: High School.
E.
What grade?
Eya RW, those are some great legs...I know, it was sexist, but they really are nice legs.
No worries, I'm old and harmless...A ''Smoooooth Operator'', but still harmless...
Great photos RW. I would guess your around 5'10 or so. At least in the photos you look tall. Love the alter-ego photo.
''still go all the way up''....LMAO, I'm not going there.
Grade A, USDA certified. Smiles. E.
Prime?
Dammit, my reply must have been to risqu, cos it disappeared.
I guess I better not post it again, I could be struck by lightening.
''at the time I was 5'11''...What about today?
I used to be 6' 10'', now I'm 6' 1'', I lost a 0 somewhere.
Still like the ''leggy'' look the best.
You should see my ''leggy'' look. Long legs, long hair flying in the wind...LOLOLOL
What a visual of myself...LOLOLOLOL.
Really sorry to hear that Justice. Happy the fucker is dead.
Well it had something to do with two sets of long legs...Kavika looks around for lightening strikes.
That is a month that you'll never forget, Nov 63.
Hey Justice, I lived in Huntington Beach as was known as the ''Surfin Shinnob''...The ladies loved to see this Indian
surfin with a feather and wind blown hair.
You had to be there to see those blond beach bunnies, eye'n this NDN.
I'd been back in ''the world'' for about six months and was at Ft. Benning Ga. We were a strike outfit and we on alert all the time, this time we went Red. I thought, shit, I survived nam and here I am in a world war. Not a good time at all.
(((((((((((((Justice)))))))))))))
I'm sorry that happened to your family!
I don't know about that.
At least no one threw me under the bus.
Now why on earth would Anyone throw a sweet, cute, darling little girl like you, up under a bus??? No way!!!
YOU WERE GORGEOUS! And still are!!!
I never looked that good, at my best! I think I was about 25 when I realized that I was never going to be asked to be a model or playboy bunny, because I was a munchkin!
Among other things...
It was an awful time, for sure. Grandpa and Grandma came and got me at school, because they remembered when McKinley was shot... Man, does that sound other-worldly, or what?
A sad, sad, time... for ALL of us!
1962 was a year of major transitions in the world at large and in my life . I was confused ... and still am .
62 was a year of major change that lead to a decade or more of conflict in and outside the U.S.
We were all pretty lucky to survive it.
Junior in high school. Owned first car worked part time two different jobs.
Well retired, sounds like you kept yourself pretty busy.
1962 started the ball rolling to great social change. Civil Rights Movement, American Indian Movement, Vietnam War protests. Violent groups formed, (SLA, Black Panthers, etc) violence, protest, FBI and police out of control. Yes it was a hell of a year that lead to a decade of change. Some of painful and violent.
And while you were making her hair turn gray, did she tan your backside Spike?