Remembering 1970

I was listening to some old songs from 1970 tonight, not sure why just picked that year to focus on. I found the memories that came back to me brought me to tears. Life was so very different in 1970. The coolest show on TV for me was “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. Mary was this young woman, who lived alone and worked at a news station. She would throw her hat in the air at the intro to the show and she was “spunky” and also quite vulnerable. It reminds me of myself now!

In 1970 I was in high school and a participant in the Folk festival we had at my school. I sang “Blowin in the Wind” and remember loving the energy of being on stage in front of my peers. We also took it to the Crotched Mountain Center to reprise it for the crippled children. There was also two gals who sang “Sounds of Silence” that night on the gymnasium stage. They were booed off and stopped their guitars and one scolded the audience. She was a gutsy one.

1970 was also the year the seniors staged a “sit-in” to protest over the dress code at the school. It was a time of protest, Vietnam and the draft, and Richard Nixon. The sit in was broken up by the principal and everyone got detention who was there and an “F” for the day. I had not gone to the protest out of fear. The dress code was changed though and we now could wear bell bottoms and hot pants to school! I had a hot pink pair that showed off my 15 year old legs pretty well!

1970 brought us such great hits as: “Stand Tall” by Burton Cummings, Three Dog Night was singing “Mama Told me not to Come” and the Kinks sang “Lola” about a transvestite!

One of the most important events to me in 1970 was the film “Love Story” which coined the phrase “Love Means Never Having to say your sorry”...which is ironic, as it really means it is always having to say your sorry! I remember watching this for the first time and really wondering if I could ever find love like Jenny and Oliver. Would I find a preppie of my own someday? Of course, Jenny dies of leukemia, and the story is tragic, but that did not stop me from buying the record and reliving the story over and over again in the music.

1970 was the year of the smiley face too, and also when The Brady Bunch was popular. I still do not understand why people still watch Marcia, Greg, et al on Nick At Night. I always loved it when Tiger Beat Magazine came out or 16 Magazine. I loved Leonard Whiting who played Romeo in Zefferelli’s Romeo and Juliet. My best friend loved Bobby Sherman and another the Monkees!

I also loved to visit my friend and play the game”Mystery Date” which was a board game that had you pick the man of your dreams...and you never wanted the “bum”. We also played Milles Bornes card games and Put and Take.

For books we were reading “Go Ask Alice” by Anonymous, “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach and “The Happy Hooker” by Xaviera Hollander and “Valley of the Dolls” where dolls were drugs! My mother worked at the town library and a young child asked for this book!!

Remember Howard Cosell, Wolfman Jack and Heaven Scent Perfume or English Leather for Men? Peasant tops which looked like maternity tops? We had a dry shampoo called PSSSSSST. that allowed you the opportunity to forego a hair wash! Or else you shoved it under a bandana. I also wore Dr. Scholls sandals made of wood and leather that made my feet get lots of blisters all over them! Jeans were called: dungarees!

Rod McKuen was my favorite popular poet and songwriter. He became an icon across college campuses for his ability to capture in verse the feelings of anxiety, love, confusion, and hope that were common during the Vietnam era. His public readings had the drawing power of a rock concert.

Here is some cool information for 1970!

Median Household Income
(current dollars):  $8,734
Consumer Price Index:   38.8
Unemployment:   3.5%
Cost of a first-class stamp:   $0.06
Life expectancy: 70.8 years


Bringing your heart and soul to a blog is no easy task and not for the faint-hearted. It has taken some intestinal fortitude to open up my writing to the public. I'll admit, some days are better than others. In the past I have encountered a lot of resistance from people in my life when I do something that appears to go against my general way of doing things. For instance, if I am either having a bad day or feeling low, people tend to be very confused and uncomfortable with my energy, it is odd to them, as usually I am upbeat and positive.

I'm just a human however!

For the most part, I live in a state of peace in my life. I find it enjoyable to write how I see my process and how others may benefit, if they so choose, by being either more positive or aware that negativity can bring more of same to them. I have no agenda to change anyone or anything. I just write from my heart.

The key message appears for me to not be overly concerned what others "think" or "believe" or "feel", but that I love myself, and my intention is always to aspire to be a better person, not harm anyone else and spread light when I can. I am a complex work in progress and will continue to be until I transition out of the earth plane!