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I remember it. It was a great time to live. So many less issues and garbage. And with less junk, all the good and healthy aspects were more profound and stood out more.
I know we can't go back to that time, but I'm thankful I lived then, and experienced it personally.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Those are the two years that I remember the best. In the summer of 1971 I went on a 2-1/2 month road trip across the U.S. with a good friend, driving a total of 18,000 miles and visiting 44 states. With gas at about 25-30 cents, even with a couple of breakdowns the entire trip cost me only $500.
Then in September I went back to school for my sophomore year of college, and met a young lady that I liked a lot. We started dating and got married in 1974, next week is our 45th anniversary.
We used to go to really good concerts like Frampton, Jethro Tull, and Santana for just $5-10, and we could watch a MLB baseball game for $3 in the bleachers.
On the negative side, we had the oil embargo crisis with long lines and getting up at 4am to line up on the odd or even days to get gas, but hat was in 1973.
1971 was an epic year. I was a high school exchange student in Vina del Mar, Chile while that country was in a huge political turnover. Salvador Allende had just been elected president, and the political, social and economic events that happened every day that year were stunning to witness and to live through. It was an experience that changed my life, and at the same time I am grateful that I became totally fluent in Spanish (and still am) because I did not speak English during that year.
1972 I returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and finished high school. It was also a turbulent time, with the Vietnam war still raging and heavy social changes going on in the USA. I started college at San Francisco State, trying to figure out what direction to go in, but I was pretty lost and aimless. It did not help that my father was mentally ill, and my mother had split from him. My home life and parental guidance was next to zero.
A year or so later I ended up going into the Army for 4 years. That put some sense into me, and that is also how I landed in Germany for the first time. Here I am, 47 years later, retired, and now in Germany again just a couple of hours from my old Army post. So goes the saying about the circle of life, coming right back where you started from. I'll stay here for a bit longer, at least till winter kicks in. I got a residence permit to stay for 2 years, but not sure if I'll be here that long.
1971 was a watershed year for the US economy. Pres. Nixon imposed price controls that summer. He also suspended the convertibility of the dollar into gold. The controls were aimed to stop the impulse of inflation after the elimination of the gold standard.
The unintended effect of Nixon's decision was the 'stagflation' which cursed the US economy throughout the 1970s.
I view 1971 as the last year of almost continuous post World War II economic boom for the US.
Nixon, going to the movies/sitting in the front on the floor, brother grad. from HS, tuna noodle casseroles were popular and staying over at girlfriend's houses are some of the things I remember. The music was good and everywhere. Everyone had long hair and parted in the middle (most of the girls back then and many of the guys, too). Bell bottom jeans. I wish I had bought 25 pairs cuz I'd be wearing them now still.
Last edited by Nanny Goat; 09-06-2019 at 02:59 PM..
In the fall of 72 we moved to a different neighborhood and it was my first year of junior high. It was also the first time I ever road on a school bus. The bus No. was #22. Funny that I can still remember that after 47 years.
Our driver was an old guy named Roger Quantrill who was a retired truck driver. Some kids called him " Roger The Codger " and other kids called him " Roger Ramjet," after the 60s cartoon character. He would show us how he double-clutched those old trucks he drove in the 50s and that's when I noticed how small his feet were. He must have worn a size 7 in tennis shoes. He sure could drive.
He was always on time and timed the traffic lights perfectly, kept at a certain speed, seldom used the brake, was always down-shifting. We were always the first bus to get to school. One time we were the only bus to get to school on account of a blown weather forecast by the weatherman.
The other buses got stuck in heavy snow and the school eventually cancelled classes. Most of the kids on our bus got to stay at school until the plows cleared the main roads. The only other people that made it to school were the ones that arrived early, the janitor and the cafeteria ladies. They wheeled a TV into the cafeteria and we all watched that for a few hours until we finished eating our lunch, then old #22 showed up and drove us home early.
I have a lot of memories of when I rode with Quantrill.
Nice piece of local history that is often overshadowed by things that happened on a national or global level. We all lived in our own little world of neighborhoods that were unique and affected us on a personal level enough so that we look back with mostly good memories. The places and the cast of characters. Nostalgia.
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