Sunday, July 7th, 1974

Basically a bad day. We went out to Aunt Velma's and Aunt Rosie's but no one was home at either place. Coming back, we stopped at the Shopping Center where I got nothing but some candy.

I called Terry but the answer was no. From his Mom. A very definite no. I'm going to try to work something out even if I have to bluff my way in before the week's over.

I started collecting PEANUTS Sundays from THE ENQUIRER today.

NOTES: I collected PEANUTS Sundays and dailies for most of the rest of the decade. I still have three bound volumes of notebook pages with the strips taped in.

Saturday, July 6th, 1974

I didn't hear from terry today but I'm hoping to tomorrow. To see it!

I saw a good comedy movie with Sid Caesar and an old episode of OUTER LIMITS.

Picked up my last pictures and turned in a new batch for the drugstore to develop. I took those out of the patches. Next week, I hope we can go out to Aunt Velma's and I can show them around.

When their vacation is over, I'm going to finish and rewrite my story.

It's at this time of year that I miss Debbie most of all. I'd be at her house nearly every day and around her birthday I'd always go down to her house and leave a present at her door in a heart-shaped box. I always did. But not this year. Not for her or for anybody. Next year, either. Yeah, I'm crazy about Linda but I'll probably never hear from her (but I'm sure gonna keep tryin'!). If I can't get something going by January I may do my best to just quit trying.  I guess I don't really need a relationship. I just naturally want one. There should be a way to beat it, though, and if there is, I'll find it. In January. In the meantime, I'll try to make myself just forget the sexual aspect of the whole thing. I've never thought that way of any girl I've ever really known or liked anyway so I'll try not to think that of ANY girl to prevent it!

I'll probably go see HERBIE RIDES AGAIN out at the Princeton next week. Another long bus ride.

NOTES: Sid Caesar is, of course, one of the great early TV funny men but he never really starred in a  lot of movies and the ones he did weren't really very good. The one I saw today was most likely THE BUSY BODY, a 1967 comedy noted today mostly as the first film of Richard Pryor...who plays  a police detective yet!


Come January I was just going to "quit trying," eh? Hmmm...more like "quite HOPING." I really wasn't trying. Just hoping and moping. 

Friday, July 5th, 1974

Today I spent most of my afternoon in Cincinnati and I didn't get a thing except a 95 cent meal at McDonalds. Terry was there and says there's a good chance we'll see the movie this Sunday. I've heard that before but I'm hoping. I'm praying to finally see it!

IT.

I watched YELLOW SUBMARINE for the third time on TV tonight.

NOTES: By this point, I was pretty much just wanting to get seeing that #$$#!! movie over with! It didn't even occur to me that I had read so much about it that it couldn't possibly live up to its considerable hype by the time I finally got to it.


I generally credit 1968's YELLOW SUBMARINE as being the first movie I was allowed to see without my parents. I could be wrong but it was definitely one of the first. I enjoyed it so much that I insisted my parents come see it with me a week later! This was six years later when I saw it the third time. I got the DVD a few years back and have watched that who knows how many more times since.

Thursday, July 4th, 1974

I got up about 6 and listened to the radio then I went and read the newspaper. I went with Dad over to clean the office before 9.

Phyllis slept late.

Today is the 4th of July, America's 198th birthday. Seems a lot like any other day. Hope it's not like that in a couple of years.

We all went out to Kings Island and I think they, at least, had a grand time. My feet were so hurt when we got home I could hardly walk! I wore my white shoes. Mom got me a magic kit and a few souvenirs. It rained pretty badly this afternoon while we were there. We didn't have time for Lion Country Safari today. I got the first sunburn I've had in years on my arms. Tomorrow it's back to long-sleeved shirts.

Phyllis and Jim left about an hour after Midnight. I stayed up to watch Geraldo Rivera.

NOTES: This whole day feels like I'm reading about someone else. 


At the time, Geraldo was the hot, hip new face of journalism and he had a late night talk show called GOOD NIGHT AMERICA.

Wednesday, July 3rd, 1974

They left early and so arrived today. There are only two of them here--her and her husband. I'm sure glad of that.

I put 48 of my best pix into pages we got free with coupons.

The new Hammer Frankenstein movie hit the drive-ins today.

I haven't been able to get through to Terry all week. THE EXORCIST is still on, though. There's still time.

Because the SS people don't work tomorrow because of the holiday we didn't need to go over tonight.

Dad went to the doubleheader tonight. I stayed home and watched a Dick Van Dyke movie on TV.

NOTES: Looked up the kid that I was told Phyllis was trying to get us to take in. Looks like he has a long record of various minor issues going back about 30 years now. 


Here's the weirdest part. I do not for a second recall her husband being with her on that trip. In fact, as we hadn't been down South in a few years, I don't even recall meeting her husband.


I had developed a great fondness for Peter Cushing's films as Dr. Frankenstein from TV and was pleased to see they were still making them. It would be a few years before I would catch this one, though, when it, too, came to TV. The new monster of this film was played by an actor/stuntman named Dave Prowse. Later in the decade it would be Prowse inside the Darth Vader costume for much of STAR WARS. He would also be Christopher Reeve's personal trainer on SUPERMAN. About two decades later, my wife and I would meet him at a Con in Cincinnati.

Tuesday, July 2nd, 1974

I slept late again. We got our check in today.

Phyllis called again and said she was going to come and visit us. Boy! THIS could be terrible! Maybe not I guess. Hmmm...Maybe SHE could take me to see THE EXORCIST. She's got a lot of kids and she's sure to bring some. I hope not all!

I moved all my good stuff so they can't find it.

Had to help George again today.

I convinced Dad to take me to see THUNDERBOLT & LIGHTFOOT. It wasn't half as bad as Mom made it out to be.

I got DRACULA LIVES and TV GUIDE and found an old tape of The Carpenters that didn't work but does now!

Mom got a new vacuum but had to return it as something happened to it right away.

I have now seen 24 R-Rated films. Would love to make THE EXORCIST # 25. I doubt it will go off tomorrow.

IT.

NOTES: I wasn't privy to everything going on regarding my older cousin Phyllis from North Carolina but the gist of it seemed to be she was having some prescription drug-related issues and problems with her youngest kid or kids and was trying to convince my Mom to take her kids in the way my Mom had taken her in when she was a teenager. This, of course, would have been nightmarish to me. Luckily, there was apparently never any chance of it occurring. 


The top song of the day was ROCK THE BOAT by The Hues Corporation. Disco was rearing its ugly head. 

Monday, July 1st, 1974

The first day of Mom and Dad's vacation. For the first time, I went out with them to Value City and the new Twin Fair. I got the Carpenters hits album and the soundtrack of HOW TO SUCCEED...for only 39 cents! At Twin Fair, I found a dollar! On the way home, we stopped and got some ice cream at Dairy Queen.

NOTES: The Value City stayed there until about 4 years ago when it was turned into a Burlington Coat Factory. The Twin Fair moved there form it's prior location which is, in 2012, just a couple of blocks from where I write this. It stayed for years in the new location but sat empty for quite a while afterwards before reopening as a carpet store which is still there.


The Dairy Queen is still there on the way and on rare occasion, we still stop there hut since we have no money and David doesn't care for ice cream, not often.


Hard to believe that you could get a record album--ANY record album--for only 39 cents in those days but you could. Many large department stores had whole bins of cut-out albums like that.


THE CARPENTERS album I bought was the one seen above. Years later I replaced it with their box set and sold off this album. I have long said that Karen Carpenter had one of the best female voices in late 20th Century music and Richard was an amazing arranger and producer. People made fun of them even then and more after Karen's tragic death but give their music a listen and you can still feel the magic!


As far as vacations, even when we didn't go anywhere, Mom and Dad always took their vacations at the same time--the first week in July.