1977 would be a pretty eventful year. A lot of events took place that may not have seemed life changing at the time but they have gone on to have a profound effect on us personally and as a society. Apple Computer was incorporated. I now type this blog on an Apple iPhone and we share the same birth year. Snow fell in Miami Florida for the only time in history. Also, as I type this blog, I am watching the Miami Dolphins struggle mightily in a playoff game in Pittsburgh where the temp is 12 degrees. I found it coincidental but I don’t suppose it’s very meaningful. Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer from Georgia, was sworn in as President of the United States. He was the first, and still the only, President from my home state. A few years ago, I played on his secret service’s softball team in a game vs Plains High School alumni. He pitched for the team. How many people can say they’ve played softball with a President. It was pretty cool.
Fleetwood Mac released the Grammy Winning album, Rumours. Last year, I took Alicia to see the Fleetwood Mac tribute band, Rumours, in Atlanta for her birthday, sort of checking off a bucket list item. Not much of a chance seeing the real band anymore so this was as close as it got. The Bee Gee’s released Saturday Night Fever. The movie of the same name would soon follow later in ’77. I always pictured my Uncle Speedy as the perfect Bee Gee. Son of Sam was also associated with the disco scene and was captured in New York that year. Led Zeppelin performed their last North American concert while The Clash released their first album. A film named Star Wars hit the big screen. I think it turned out to be pretty popular. I remember the Ewoks and the original Chewy before special effects were so good. There were others too like Smokey and The Bandit, Slap Shot and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Pretty big year in music and movies I’d say.
The Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners would play their first baseball games. Years later, I would be a Mariners fan thanks to Ken Griffey Jr. and would despise the Blue Jays thanks to Kelly Gruber. Gruber was a hustler and While he would normally be a player I would root for, he stood between the Braves and a World Series with that hustle. AJ Foyt won the Indianapolis 500 for the 4th time. The AJ Foyt of my generation, Tony Stewart, is why I love racing today. That, along with watching it on Sundays with my dad and grandaddy. Reggie Jackson hit 3 homeruns in a World Series win over the Dodgers, lending to the nickname that would stick, Mr. October. I guess I was destined to be a sports fan with this type of activity.
1977 was the year Tandy was created. If you aren’t from my generation, you probably don’t even know what this is. But for me, it created my love for video games. The Tandy Computer was the first console I played. Bedlam was my favorite game and it was completely text with no action or graphics. Sounds boring, I know. But I spent hours trying to avoid being lobotomized by a crazy doctor. It’s also where we got Paperboy, Pitfall and Downland. Commodore and Atari also hit the scene in 1977. What a year for gamer history! You kids can thank these classics for setting you up for Madden and Call of Duty. I would go on to specialize in video gaming for many years of my life. Tecmo Bowl, RBI, Mario, Resident Evil, Fallout. Of course, it’s a specialization that doesnt really count as specialization.
The Pinwheel Network was created. Better known now as Nickelodeon, this tv station was on in every house I went to as a child. It’s still on at my house today with Spongebob Squarepants. Earlier classics were Dusty’s Treehouse, Mr. Wizard’s World, You Can’t Do That On Television, Double Dare and Ren and Stimpy. I’m pretty sure that was the “Golden Age” of television for my generation. I don’t understand the stuff kids watch these days but that’s probably the way my parents felt about my shows. TV was better in my younger days. I don’t know whether that was because I was less knowledgeable about what was real and what was fake or if The years have just washed away the bad programming.
Everything wasn’t all roses either though. The King, Elvis Presley, died in August. The world mourned the passing of one of the most influential musicians in history. As big of a music fan as I am, I would have loved to see him play live. I love a live show and I’m sure he put in some memorable ones. Three members of Lynard Skynard passed away in a plane crash. The southern rock legends would continue and still play today but the original band died that day too. The King and Skynard in the same year. Groucho Marx and Bing Crosby also took their last breaths in 1977. I guess 2016 was crueler in numbers as it relates to the celebrity death but these were equally big names.
All in all though, a pretty large year. The most significant event of my life happened that year also. On February 13, 1977, I was born. I was the first grandchild on the Kelly side of the family and the second on the Shiver side. Dusty beat me by a couple of years. My dad, Dewey was (and still is) a truck driver and my mom, Pam, worked at the school system. I was born into a relatively normal life in a relatively normal town. A lot of abnormal things have happened over the last 39 years but my life has been pretty good. My parents are still together after 40 years, all but one of my grandparents were able to see my children when they were born, I married my high school sweet heart and we’ve got our own pretty good life.
But as I’m so close to reaching the big milestone of 40, it’s become an obsession of sorts to revisit my journey along the way. I see a lot of things every day that take me back to some moment of my life that brings me joy, pain, laughter, fear or some other emotion. There have been a lot of “normals” along the way but there have been some events along the way that could have changed my path and led to a different present. Life is funny. Sometimes it’s sad. But it’s life. I have no idea what memories I’ll write about next. I don’t know if I’ll write part 2 tomorrow or next week. I don’t know if I’ll write about a year in my life or a several year span. Or maybe just an event that happened and the lesson I learned. I’ve shared several memories on the blog before but that’s what a big part of life is about to me. Making memories.
It’s also fun to write about. A lot of people and places intertwine during the walk down memory lane. It’s not always about fun either though. I have had some hard lessons I’ve had to learn along the way because I’ve made some bad decisions. It’s also not always deep, profound and life changing either because I was a clown growing up. I’ve enjoyed life along the way and I want to convey that too. Overall, my life has probably been boring compared to others. But there might be something in this journey that resonates or links us together. There’s only one way to find out though. And that’s to continue dive in and take the trip down memory lane. And it all started in 1977.
J-Dub
I can’t wait!