Virginia 1973 and a Stone’s Throw Away From My First Presidential Gravesite
Saturday, June 21st, 2008
Until just moments ago, I was all excitedly prepared to tell you how my first Presidential grave was not who I always thought it was (Nixon), but actually George Washington during a visit to Mount Vernon when I was just one year old. My Dad thought that I had also probably seen Woodrow Wilson’s grave in the National Cathedral during the visit. It was all plausible considering I had gone along on the trip and there were slides of both Mt. Vernon and the Cathedral in the set that my Dad took. But then Mom dropped the bomb on me: I never actually made it into Washington D.C. in 1973. I didn’t actually get there until 1998. Read the rest of this entry »
The storms that hit the area the night before while we were staying at the condom-laced Motel Six in McKinney, Texas just outside Dallas brought the cold weather back to the area on the morning of Friday, April 4, 2008, our last full day of the trip. This meant that it also brought back my ugly orange sweatshirt which I had only brought along to use in Dayton, but was now donning for the second time of the week. I had no choice, it was downright cold that morning! After leaving our motel, Bob stopped for a Krispy Kreme and I foolishly declined a donut. 
Happy Days has always been one of those shows that I had always enjoyed whenever it happened to be on TV, but that I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch. And still, even as the proud owner of the first three seasons of the series, I generally pop it in when I want some ‘comfort food’ sitcoms to grace my screen. But no one who lived through the late 1970’s can forget the Fonzie phenomenon as he made motorcycles, leather jackets, and greasy hair cool again. 
As I recount the days of my life, I have come to the conclusion that the time period around 1984 contained what I recall as being the best days of my life, although it’s hard to say exactly why I’m so drawn to this era. Thinking about it carefully, it was an angst-ridden time where I was chubby, awkward, and confused. I liked girls but they didn’t care for me – and that about says it all. So why is this time now so well-received by my current-day self? One possible answer is because Eric Welch was my best friend during this time period.