I bought a new bike:

A Schwinn Sierra 7. Dark blue. I haven't been biking in over 10 years. Now that I'm in Florida it'll be my second car .... until it's 95 degrees outside then screw that ...

Misc. Remembrance:

When I was 5, my favorite show was Batman. I loved the show so much, I secretly wanted my folks to install a bat pole in my second floor bedroom closet so I could slide down  from my bedroom into our basement. I never bothered to ask them, because deep down inside I knew it was a waste of time. I knew how inflexible and unreasonable they could sometimes be.

Random:

Before Kenny G. came on the scene, we had Chuck Mangione... and his one song that got any airtime on the radio... ..

Misc. Remembrance:

Back in the day, my cousin Mary used to collect Raggedy Andy dolls... not Ann, just Andy. She had one that was about 5 feet tall. I don't know if she still does, I haven't heard from her since the mid-'80s. I've lost touch with dad's side of the family. No hard feelings, just lost touch.

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord" Luke 2:11

Merry Christmas

Edaville Railroad:

Around this time in the early '70s, our folks would take us to Edaville Railroad in Carver Mass (I'm not sure if it's still there). I think the last time we were there was around '74. They had huge Christmas lights decorations, but what I remember most was the fact that it was freezing cold, and 5 minutes after we got there I was ready to go home. The top pic is a shot I got on a random image search. The bottom pic shows me and a couple of friends posing in the giant Santa (Laurie on the left, and Elaine on the right). I'm guessing the above was taken in '73, when we were all about 5 years old. We still keep in touch, they're like sisters to me.

Ever wonder what became of Helen Reddy???

1970:

Misc. Remembrance:

In '77, about a year after my folks split up, mom bought a new house. She gave me a key to the front door to let myself in when I got home from school. She stressed the importance of not losing the key, because then she'd have to take off work early to let me in. The next day I got off the school bus, walked up to the front door and reached into my pocket for the key. Only to find it wasn't in my pocket. I had lost my key. The first day. She was mad at me for three days.

Misc. Remembrance:

 

Sometime around '76, I told one of the kids in my neighborhood just before Christmas that "there was no Santa Claus". I guess he took it pretty hard, but then again I don't know who took it harder: the kid, or the kid's parents that I told him. Everyone tried to lay some huge guilt-trip on me. Who knows, maybe if I hadn't said anything, he'd still believe to this day...

Random fact:

I was never this popular.

 Poor Chrissie....

A very '69 Christmas:

The above was taken Christmas eve 1969, the day I turned 2. That's my cousin DeeDee and myself on the bicycle I got that year (I'm guessing for my birthday). The picture's dated "Mar 70", because my folks were always slow in getting our pictures developed at the local "Fotomat". I don't know who the adults are, but the one on the right kind of looks like my grandmother Dell. I haven't a clue who the guy is. In retrospect I can't believe how bad my folks' taste in home decorating was. That brown refrigerator is a whole new brand of ugly. When my folks sold that house, the woman who bought it pulled my mom aside and told her that the eagle wallpaper was the first to go. On a personal note, I would've had everything go, especially that nasty linoleum flooring.

Random:

 

I was listening to a replay of "American Top 40" with Casey Kasem, and the number one song for this week in 1978 was Le Freak by Chic. Number two was MacArthur Park by Donna Summer. I still love both of those songs.

Had it:

The above are a couple of pages from an old Brady Bunch coloring book. I had it back in the day. They were 35 cents back then, but I'm sure it would cost about 20 bucks on today's collectibles market. It's rare to find one of these with no coloring or writing in them, but then again nobody in those days thought of resale value. Who knew they'd be so valuable one day. On the right are Bobby and Cindy, and I'm guessing that's Jan and not Marcia because of the sideburn curls. Looks like the only one not having fun in the scene is Alice (although I can't blame her. Even on vacation they still make her work..).

Misc. Remembrance:

 

Whenever we'd go on vacation, my folks would always buy the cereal variety pack. I loved the variety packs, but the only thing that sucked about it was there were no premiums in the boxes, and quite frankly cereal with no premiums was kind of boring...

I remember an episode of "Welcome Back Kotter"...

... when Vinnie had to take a test that was crucial for graduation. If he didn't pass, he wouldn't graduate and he'd have to stay back another year (as I remember he failed it twice before). He crammed for the test and got a passing grade. A "C". Kotter praised him like it was a big deal, and Vinnie swaggered around the classroom like he was the smartest guy in school. Yes, he was really proud of that "C"...