I'm fixated on the year 1977, as part of my personal nostalgia. I wish I was cool enough to be into Paul Weller back then or had stories of listening to Bowie's Heroes. No, my friend and I were listening to his older brother's Queen album snickeringly trying to decipher "Get Down Make Love" and thinking Cheech and Chong was the funniest shit.
I think my parents didn't know what to think of me watching the news back then. That summer, news of the Son-of-Sam taunts and whack poetry were watched by 8 year-old me. I was getting a sense that outside of suburbia, times were bad (Carterian malaise?) and cities were places to fear. When the news broke the next day on the radio about the looting and how NYC was in "anarchy," I remember I was in the kitchen (trying to wish my sister into the cornfield) and being amazed that this was occurring. I'm sure my mom explained riots/civil unrest with a leftist, sociocultural bent. I don't recall a 24/7 TV blitz out in California. If there was, we didn't watch it but I wonder if it was on.
I only knew of one person who was in NYC that summer. She was 17, going to summer school, and scared shitless.
Was anyone in NYC during the blackout?
If not, do you recall it affecting you?
photo:: I think this was the only blackout that the Twin Towers were in.
