Baseball Killed The Disco Star?

July 12, 1979: I was 14, loved Rock-n-Roll and hated disco.

"Disco Demolition Night" was a promotional event that took place at Comiskey Park in Chicago. It was held during a twi-night doubleheader between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. During the peak of the event, rowdy fans stormed the field, and a near riot broke out. The event is regarded as the culmination of a (well deserved) backlash against disco music that had an effect on the decline of disco.

I can remember thinking that The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart were the ultimate turncoats when "Emotional Rescue" and "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" came out on the radio.

The Argo Merchant Oil Spill

December 1976: I was 12. Before the latest oil problems in the Gulf, and the Exxon Valdez, the Argo Merchant disaster was my first exposure to envirnmental catastrophe.

The Argo Merchant was a Liberian-registered oil tanker that ran aground southeast of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, on 15 December 1976. Six days later, on December 21st, the shipwreck broke apart, causing one of the largest oil spills in history.

I cannot for the life of me understand what the wahoo's in Cape Cod are fighting putting up a wind farm in Nantucket sound. Another case of NIMBY elitism.

Gary Gilmore Execution

January 17, 1977: I was 12. Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad for murdering two people during a robbery. He demanded the death penalty and got what he asked for. His last words: "Lets Do It" Wondering if a Nike Ad Man was wathching that day. This was my first exposure to the death penalty and it was a big media story. The pre and post coverage was on all the news stations. Have to remember that back then, there was only CBS, ABC, and NBC. The whole thing disturbed me and I remember thinking about it long after it was over. I also remember all of the protesters, which is commonplace today, picketing outside the prison.

Now This Was Youth Adventure!

Before there was "Stand by Me"(excellent movie), there was "Bless the Beasts and Children" It came out in 1971, and was based on the excellent novel by Glendon Swarthout. I saw it when I was about 12, and it was so influential. Someone needs to remake this movie, but I think the animal rights activist would have huge problems with it. It was, dark, funny, emotional, sad, and dealt with real issues that kids, parents, and society were dealing with at the time, without sugarcoating it.

The Carpenters sang the title song. A fact not many people know is that a track that was played at times during the movie, before it was "Nadia's Theme" or "The young and the Restless" theme, it was called "Cotton's Theme" named after the character Cotton, played by Barry Robbins, who tragically died of AIDS in 1986. If you have never read the novel, or seen the movie, you do not know what you are missing.

Burnt Offerings

Burnt Offerings was a movie that scrared the living... out of me. I was 12 when I saw it, alone. It wasn't so much the movie that petrified me, but the "evil chauffeur", pictured above. Many nightmares followed. The ending was pretty spooky as well. Did anyone have the same experience?

The Fonz and the Chicken Stand Jump

September 23, 1975. Happy Days was on Tuesday nights. You never missed it. I was in fourth grade when I got my first exposure to the "cliffhanger". The Fonz was going to jump over a record 14 garbage cans, to get his cool back. This was huge, the fonz needed his cool. It ended up being a two part episode, with part one ending just before he makes the jump. We had to wait an agonizing wee to see what happened. Would he make it? Would he live? There was no internet to leak the results back then. I have to believe part two was the most watched show on TV that night. The Fonz did make it, but crashed into Arnold's chicken stand. I still remember Pat Morita doing his recap, with a drumstick serving as a throttle.

Alpha Centauri

Lost in Space was a show that I watched religously. Dr. Smith was the ultimate scoundrel- the kind you love to hate. I always wondered when Major West was going to give him a well deserved beat down. But then again, Don never made a move on Judy, who was obviously, interested. Jonathan Harris, Billy Mumy, and the Robot were the perfect team, and I ate it up, every single episode.

How could you not love a character who could chew out the Robot, with the eloquance of a Shakespearean actor? What was your favorite episode?