Friday 08/18/2023
Took a walk, stopping at the hardware store. There are half a dozen brands of “clog buster” chemicals for drains. They list their ingredients because they are poisons so I could tell they all have essentially the same mix of stuff, so I bought the one that was on sale. Tonight I poured the specified amount down my sink drain to marinate overnight.
For about 4 hours spread across the day, I worked on the video for the C&W jamboree.
At 10 I took part in a meeting with the auditorium AV contractor and we resolved a number of points. Then I wrote an email to my committee summarizing what’s going on.
Had dinner with Patty and the Allens. I was talking to Stew and Kathy in the lobby before dinner. They asked, who are you waiting for, and I said, “Patty and the Allens” and then we all laughed because it sounded like a bad high-school band from the 60s.
Scott had a comment on the Police Car memory, which made me realize, once again, what a poor, fragmented, spotty memory I have for the period 1960-1975. Rather crucial years of my life. Well my memory since then isn’t so great either, but at least I have our trip reports and photographs to sketch out a fairly consistent timeline.
The timeline 1975-now is very simple: lived with Marian on Tasso street. It breaks into two segments, up to 1996 when I worked for a salary, and after. But from 1960-75 I lived in many different places, had various cars, various jobs, various lovers (well, actually only one). And I don’t remember it in any detail, just images, moments, and it is very frustrating to try to remember what came before what.
So yesterday on the bus ride I got out my phone and started making notes on what I do remember. I have zero intention of writing a “memoir”. My parents each wrote an autobiography? Joyce, too. Good for them. I don’t have the material, or the desire, and it would be a total bore anyway. But I would like to get a sequence of events more or less sorted out.
Here are the rough notes so far. Relatives feel free to point out mistakes.
Places lived and cars used
The Ranch aka “Los Helechos” 1942- 1960
1953 Chevrolet sedan, green, parents car used on dates
1941 Chevrolet sedan, black, damaged in accident (my fault) continued driving despite dented right rear door, eg while working at WW State Fair Puyallup summer 1959 & 1960
Lander Hall Undergrad dorm, UW, Seattle 1960-1962
Memory: seeing the Space Needle being built 1961-2, and completion of the Ship Canal Bridge of I-5.
Roommate Michael Murphy. Memory of him showing me FORTRAN program cards.
Joyce got me a summer job parking cars at Cadillac on Van ness. Lived in her apartment at 9th&Judah. Was this summer 1961? or 62?
Returned to UW, hated it, depressed and in emotional turmoil. Dropped out of school.
Brief stay in a boarding house, University district Seattle, ?1962
Apartment ? Seattle 1962? No idea where.
Had a job, for the city in a group doing pet licensing enforcement-door to door in West Seattle. Terrible job that I sucked at.
Bought 1956 Ford sedan, 2-tone blue, flathead v8. Recollection: car ran smooth but low on power. Took to gas station at ?Madison @ Broadway? the guy said it just needs a tuneup. Points plugs timing and the car was transformed.
I can’t remember anything about my living situation for this time. I have a memory of working on the car, probably the Ford, something under the front end—steering rack?—and I had no garage nor jack stands so I put the right wheels on the sidewalk and crawled under in the gutter to work. This would have been outside wherever my apartment was, somewhere in central Seattle, maybe around Seattle University.
Joyce got said I could have the job at Cadillac again, so I drove the Ford to SF. Stayed not very long in her apartment, then moved to a one-room apartment in a building near USF Medical School, one of the very steep streets, maybe 4th or 5th avenue.
John Kennedy assassination 1963 – vague memory of talking about it with a female student, probably at USF.
Started hanging out with the drama students at USF. At some point I moved into a shared apartment somewhere between USF and the Panhandle — Hayes? Grove? shared with Dan —–? and Jackson DeGovia. (A Jackson Degovia can be found online at imdb.com and other media sites, he apparently has had a decent career as a production designer for theater and film. I think probably the same guy.)
enough for now.
Codgerville 