YEAR 1979
My four-year-old self was loving it in 1979. What's there to worry about when you are four? Not much really. You play, you eat, you sleep, you get frustrated that you can't fully converse yet because you are just barely beginning learning the English language. Teeth are still an issue at four, I'm sure there's a lot of pain involved with that. Luckily, we don't really remember any of this stuff. By the age of four, you do begin to have things stick in your brain. I'm sure some humans remember more than others at this young age, and some less than others. I find it interesting that our brains don't remember everything from the day we are born. But like I've said before, maybe it's in there, we just don't have the ability to access it? And of course, I realize that some young children who are born into poverty or other horrible circumstances probably have a different outlook. But, luckily for me, I had a solid parental team raising and caring for my sisters and me. In reality, 1979 is where it all begins. I can remember a few things within this year. Both happy, an scary, and sad.
How many of you were sent to pre-school? Pre-school is really another term for group babysitting. My particular "Babysitter" of the time was a group of female adults. Maybe they claimed to be teachers, I don't really know. It was located at our Rec Center near a local park. It consisted of a building with three or four rooms all attached in a long sort of J shape, with the hook part of the J cut off. One of those being a large room that could be used for a small viewing of a school play etc. The ceiling was high, and the room was quite large. There was an outdoor hallway connecting all these rooms with a handrail and fencing all along the way. All in all, a very nice location. However, when my mom dropped me off on day one, I was absolutely terrified. If I had had babysitters prior, I don't remember them. So being dropped off with two strange female adults, and a room full of kids I'd never met before, it was a bit unnerving. I specifically recall the room being kind of dimly lit. Or maybe it was just a different type of light I hadn't seen before. But it seemed dim. My mom walked me in which was all fine and dandy. But when she left, and I wasn't allowed to leave with her! That was a major problem! One of the adult females grabbed my hand and gently guided me over to some blocks. The other kids must have been on their second or third day, because none of them were screaming their heads off, or running for the doors. I seem to recall doing both. Just as the adults had counted on though, once I was settled in to playing with some of the toys they had around, things quickly got better. I also realized that these weren't scary people, but caring and supportive. Even though they were still complete strangers. One of my 'Teachers' was a lady in her mid-thirties maybe. She had black, short hair that just made it past here lower ear. She had a distinct, rather large dark spot under one of her fingers opposite side of her fingernail. She told all of us that the mark was from a Sal bug that had crawled under her skin! According to her, it was one of the off-color Sal bugs too. Not the regular black ones we've all picked up and watched as the terrified little bug rolled up into a ball. So, we should "always be careful" when picking up the little creatures and "never" pick up the off-colored ones. Was she lying about this? Maybe just making up a funny story that she thought us kids would like? I can't tell you. But the sight of it is etched in my brain.
That first day of Pre-school would end at some point in the early afternoon. I don't recall what I ate for lunch, or if I had a lunch pail. In fact, I don't remember anything else about that day. Until that is, when my mom came to pick me up. I recall being ecstatic to see her. And, to my surprise, she had bought me a toy helicopter! It was still in the box, all nice and shiny. So, I guess our early memories are possibly triggered by maybe a slight form of trauma. Why? Because I really couldn't tell you much about my remaining time there. Which I'm thinking was probably months and months. My mom had to work of course, and my dad as well. It was a good place to start what would become a lifetime of new experiences.
Nothing else pops up in my mind from that year. That's the only event that I remember so well, I can actually still visualize most of the events of that day. It could be quite possible that memories from my fifth year on the planet meld in with the fourth. Of course, as we get older, a lot of these events fade away. The brain, as powerful as it is, also has its flaws.
I'm always intrigued by the cost of things. One of my favorite parts of this Blog, is looking back at how much things cost. In 79, homes averaged around $62,900.00 in the U.S. That's twenty-two thousand dollars more than 1975. Minimum wage was at $2.90 an hour. This totals out to $116 a week working forty hours in that week. New cars ranged between $18,000 and $28,000.00. A Sony Walkman sold for $200.00. It would take you more than a week at minimum wage to afford a Walkman! In the 70's, dinner theaters were popular. The cost for dinner, for two people, including the show was under $30.00. Today, in the year 2023, a hamburger combo w/ fries and a soft drink will cost you around $10.00. That's for one person. A pair of men's Levis cost between $13.00 and $19.00. Women's jeans between $12.99 and $40.00. Bacon was .99 a pound. Beef roast, $1.49 a pound. Potato's, .89 for a ten-pound bag. Skippy peanut butter, .99 for an 18oz jar.
An Accountant averaged $300.00 a week. If you were a Chemist, you made around $20,000.00 a year. The un-employment rate was still at 6 percent.
Popular movies were titles such as Aliens, Dracula, and Avalanche Express. Muhammad Ali was featured in the movie Freedom Road.
The winter of 79 brought frigid temperatures, and heavy snow throughout the U.S. Drought conditions would ensue over the next five years in Ventura County. Seems to be fairly consistent with our county as far as dry and wet years.
What were you doing in the year of 79? Maybe you were driving your sedan up the Sespe to swim in the hot springs. Is your car still buried in the tank traps of the Sespe?!
"In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra."
-Fran Lebowitz
No comments:
Post a Comment