The Year 1974

Both my cousin Vanessa and my nephew Ryan were born on the same day in 1974, August 21.  My sister in law and my cousin Rita gave birth to their children on the same day. I had spent time with Rita, my cousin, during her pregnancy, as I had visited with her in N. Ft. Myers, Florida, and had taken her to Melbourne to visit her friends there, Sherry and Perry.  So I rememmber when Rita was carrying Vanessa. It is hard to believe that this many years have passed since that eventful summer when I stayed in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, when Nixon resigned, and Jerry Ford became President.

I had gone back to California after a year's leave of absence in which I had returned to live in Michigan with my parents, and their good friends, the Lamberts.  That year in Michigan was a long one but it produced some interesting results regarding the entertainment industry and the horse racing world.  Secretariat won the Triple Crown, the first horse to do so in 25 years, and I had seen the horse win the race for the first two legs at the home of the Lamberts, and then the final leg at my own home with my dad sitting behind me watching the race with me.  I had already traveled from California to Michigan through the state of Kentucky, and stayed overnight at a motel in Lexington, KY. which made me very conscious of the importance of the derby race for that year. I was unaware of Penny Cheney until later, but there are things about the colors and the silks that intrigue me.  They are shaped a lot like a dress that I had worn to a March of Dimes event in La Jolla, California.  The number on the photo that I received from the visit to the the Salk Institute has 73 on it.   Somehow I connect the dress to the silks and the number of the photo to the year.  Intriguing to me.

All that happened when I was in Michigan, so I returned to CaliforniI lea for a few months where I took up the cause of learning to become a travel agent through a group operated by a former TWA flight attendant, Diane Green.  If anyone learns anything about TWA it is that it is a very big Hollywood airline.

Jesus Christ Superstar and the Exorcist were two big movies that were released that year.  They both made an impact on me and my teaching career. I won't explain now how.
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I ended up going to Florida through the southern route, stopping to see my friends from years ago in Arizona who were now living in Texas.  From Texas and a visit to the Johnson Library in Austin, I went to Ft. Myers, Florida where I stayed for some time.  I even toured the Edison Winter Home which has some fascinating exhibits and statements that are unforgettable.  Yes, the original lightbulb does still burn there.  Ft. Myers, Florida puts on a light parade on Edison's birthday which just so happens to be my own as well.  I did not see the parade though as I had celebrated my birthday at the Tonight Show in Los Angeles, California that year. I saw Connie Stevens, Wayne Newton, and Kathy Rigby appear on the Tonight Show with my teaching friends, Don and Mary Robinson. I have a ticket yet for that show as a momento since a friend would not go unless I had had another ticket.

I met some very interesting people in Florida during the time that I was there.  A movie that was being seen then was Carnal Knowledge. I shall never forget that one.  Jules Pfeiffer wrote the screenplay I believe.  Not a great movie, but significant in understanding the thoughts of men at the time.

Cannonade won the Kentucky Derby that year since it was the 100th running of the Run for the Roses.  Little Current won the next two legs of the Triple Crown. I remember it all too well as well as a dog called Mississippi Toni. I liked dog races then also, and went to see a few.

I became superstitious about the way people were screaming around me at a place called the Entrada,a sports bar, regarding the races.  So for the next two legs of the crown, I stayed in my motel room instead of going to the bar, so that nobody would be superstitiously using me to win a race.  Sounds funny until you learn the truth...people are superstitious and think that they can actually win a race by calling it out!  It makes me sore when they do that, but I have on occasion done it myself.
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That is when I began to really get my feet in the water regarding racing. Before that, it had been a minor interest, just curious, but it grew into something stronger and bigger in Florida.  The Sunshine State.

I did sit directly across from John Mitchell, the attorney general, at Orlando Airport, and while we recognized one another, I him anyway, don't know that he knew me, but probably did, we neither one said a word to one another.

74- Quite a year! I remember it still.  Oh, another thing that was big then was the Devil's Triangle!

I guess that it was a devil of a year!   Maybe?