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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.
::that was a watershed year for me. it started with carter being inaugurated in january + me realizing that not everyone in orange county was happy about that. it was an el niño year in la, with a particularly fierce storm on 9 february. My dad was into jogging—or is it /yog-ging/ with a soft j? he would run at the beach on sundays + somehow I was able to keep up with him. I now know he was deliberately going slowly. my sisters were seniors in high school + soooo looking forward to flying the coop. their teenage apathy meant less conflict b/t us + their sibling rivalry meant more conflict b/t them. I remember taking trips that summer, as if my parents wanted us all to have one last set of shared experiences as kids. one was a trip to san diego + baja. a tropical storm came through + it rained the whole time—it was the day elvis died. there were other outings + I remember sitting in the back of the station wagon oblivious to any squabbling up front. I wanted to be so independent that year. “um, I’ll get my own breakfast.” I remember lots of granola that year. wheat germ in the cupboard. the horror of some product called ice milk. on many a sunday, my dad would make “dutch babies” {puffy pancake} from a recipe in sunset magazine in a big iron skillet. I recall it being lemony with powdered sugar.
::my nightowl tendencies coupled with laxed supervision meant watching saturday night live + monty python on pbs. I recently saw tom snyder’s tomorrow show on DVD from that era--the show with an ultra-arrogant paul weller + the runaways’ cherie curie. I recall the tomorrow show, but it was over my head. my sisters actually were nice enough to take me to see star wars. I was sort of burnt out on hearing the theme + the cantina song on the radio. I wasn’t that into music then. I knew I hated what my sisters liked. pop + jazz. my dad was actually hipper than they were. I have no idea what happened to his records over the years. I knew it wasn’t cool to like linda ronstadt’s “blue bayou” or steven bishop’s “on + on.” I remember exclaiming,“punk rock!,” after hearing the term from a friend’s older brother. Someone in authority said, “punk sucks!” I then knew for sure it was cool. I discovered late night movies that year. kabc played beatles movies around the holidays. I wouldn’t see a hard day’s night again until 2006, when I was in montréal + it was dubbed in french. I thought it was funnier than shît when my sister said the theme song from “chips” sounded like gay disco music. I remember my parents talking about annie hall, although I don’t recall them seeing many movies in those days. I wanted to make a close encounter of the third kind mountain. I was in the class play but I didn’t take it seriously. passed up the last offer by my parents to take up a musical instrument.
::it was an odd time to become aware of the world as kid. the son of sam + the hillside strangler would wreak havoc that year. I remember seeing coverage of the nyc blackout + that really freaked me out.
:: I was really into oceanography + tidepools. I learned how to read the tide tables + what neap + spring tides are. I wanted to get into astronomy, but I think I liked the idea of it more than anything.
::my teacher told my mom I had a well-developed sense of humor. I had no idea what she meant + thought it an odd thing to tell my mom. "I'm watching you, lady." fourth grade seemed like the last year you can be somewhat popular without being mean.
