Culture Shock in the 1960's

I am not much of a mathematician. That is a fact. So let me ask you what is the answer to this advanced problem?

8 - 7 = ?

I am informed by a reliable source that the answer to this puzzler is one. And in the math world that would be right. But in my world brought on many changes. I passed the summer of 1965 by going to summer school in the mornings to make up for my inability to pass seventh grade math. At first I was ashamed as I went to summer school that year. But then I started understanding some of these obscure concepts such as number lines, how to determine what angle a triangle was, you know, that sort of nonsense. After summer school was over my parents dropped the bomb on me and my siblings. Due to a major tuition increase we would be leaving the world of St. Joseph and St. Anne School and would be transferring to Nathan S. Davis Public School in the fall.  Please note that we were not asked if this was okay with us, we were just informed. 

At first this news disturbed me a bit. I would be leaving SJSA, the only home that I had known since the second grade. I would be leaving classmates that had accompanied me on my journey and I would be changing to another caravan to get me to the destination of High School. Then I thought that this could be a good thing. At SJSA I was always thought of as dumb and or lazy. The nuns lived in a closed society and their thoughts on the worth of a student had to be one of the points of discussion in the refectory at dinner time. By transferring I would be getting some good benefits: 

1. Anonymity - The teachers at this school will never had heard of me, I was never the subject of discussion around the table at any meal!  I would no longer be automatically considered dumb.
2. No more New Math - The nuns at SJSA were nothing if not progressive in their view of what a proper education should be. They embraced the "New Math" which I renamed the "New Mystery."  My friend Big Jim Boinski who attended Shields Public School said that they were being taught only ordinary arithmetic, you know, adding and subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. Hot Dog, that was for me. 
3. Clean Up Week I would be getting a whole week off in the spring - called clean up week. While my former classmates were slaving away at their studies, I would have a whole week of leisure. 
4. No More Bullies Since I was out of SJSA I would be leaving the bullies who tormented the "slower" kids. My slate would be clean and maybe, just maybe, I could shine and become one of the "in" crowd. 

So with some trepidation I started my new career at Nathan S. Davis School and left the nuns, the detentions, the bullies behind and boldly began my final year in grade school with the prize of high school just ten short months away!

That first day presented me with a good dose of culture shock. First, the classroom looked very old fashioned and had desks that were fastened to the floor. And the floor kind of creaked when you walked upon it, kind of like an old time hardware store. Shockingly, there was no crucifix on the wall, no pictures of the Holy Family, no reminders to pray, it was all so very secular and really a shock for this cradle Catholic boy.

The bell rang and all of the kids took their seats and the PA system announced that we would say the Pledge of Allegiance. We all stood and I almost made the sign of the cross, an understandable mistake for a boy who started each school day since first grade with prayer. In this new land, the sign of the cross was not needed.

My classmates were a typical lot of kids. But there was not a light blue shirt and a navy clip on tie in the whole classroom!  As a matter of fact, many of the kids were wearing bluejeans, which would get you the death penalty at SJSA because the school had never ever had bluejeans pass through the doors during the school week, it just wasn't done.

The teachers were ordinary men and women. They were not under vows of chastity, obedience, or poverty and appeared to like their jobs and had a healthy tolerance for the kids under their care. 

A lot of things happened this year. My grades got better, even in math. I did have to deal with some bullying, nothing that punching a kid in the nose wouldn't fix. I saw after school playground fights between George Pina who was in charge of ass kicking in the school and a hillbilly kid named Paul Ballard who for some reason could not keep his mouth shut when in the presence of George, and George was not one to accept insults lightly. His counseling sessions with Paul always ended up with someone having to help Paul up off the ground and to make sure he made it home without collapsing while crossing Pershing Avenue and becoming a hood ornament. 

I got over the culture shock of non-religious education, joined the patrol boys and once a week on Wednesday afternoon helped convoy the kids that signed up for CCD (religious education) to my old school SJSA.  It was kind of strange entering those walls again. Stranger still was I ended up sitting in my old seventh grade classroom,and I naturally made sure I sat in my old desk. I did not learn much that was new about being a Catholic that year. There was little that the nun could teach me that I had not heard before in grades KG through Seventh. But the walk broke up the week nicely and the nun that was teaching the class was one I had in sixth grade, Sister Margaret Jean, and she chose to not call on me when she asked the class a question. Some things don't change! 

My story about growing up on the southwest side of Chicago in the Brighton Park neighborhood contains a lot of humor, a number of lessons, a killer roller coaster, and a genuine flying nun and is available at at my publisher American Star  or at Amazon. com

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Try before you buy?  Sure - email me ( click here ) and I will send you a sample chapter, no cost, obligation, and I guarantee you will like it !

Do You Remember 1976?

Fashion 1976 (?)

Let's face it, the 1960's and 70's were a much simpler time to live in.  To the left you can see that I was a quite a snappy dresser. Those blue plaid pants and that shirt really don't go together now do they?  Notice the pack of Winston's in the left pocket? Man I was really thin (compared to now) back then. This picture was taken in July of 1976 when we celebrated the Bicentennial of the United States.  What do we know about the Bicentennial year?  By the end of August of this year I was living in a monastery in Loretto Pennsylvania, having given up my job at Continental Bank.  I packed all my belongings in a television box and for two years lived the life of a religious brother. More about that in a later post. But in this year we were living with inflation, although the prices from back then seem quaint now. For example: 

• The average price for a new home was 48K in 1976 and while that sounds low to our ears that is up from 26K in 1970.
• First Class postage was 13 cents in '76 up from 6 cents in '70
• Gas was selling for 59 cents a gallon - up from 36 cents a gallon back in the good old days of 1970. 
• I have to share one quaint price that I happened upon, a loaded new 1976 Cadillac El Dorado could be yours for 11K in 1976.

Here are some other things of note from 1976.

• World Series was won by the Cincinnati Reds
• Superbowl X was won by the Pittsburgh Steelers
• A Superbowl  X add cost only $110,000.00
• The Stanley Cup was won by the Montreal Canadians
• In the Olympics, Nadia Comanici was the first to receive a perfect 10 - she received seven of them.  Also that man's man, Bruce Jenner won the Decathlon in this Olympic year. 
• In business Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.  Their first computer sold for $666.00. 
• In the war of Video Tapes, VHS won over Sony Beta Max. 
• Finally, one of my favorite songs of all times, "Oh What A Night" climbed to the top of the heap. 

The 1970's were a simpler time. When the phone rang we generally answered it. There were very few answering machines. Computers were still beyond the reach of most Americans and took up lots of space and did precious little compared to the devices we can carry around in our pockets today,

We talked to each other more and we listened to each other more. We were more polite, we obeyed the rules of the road, when driving and in life in general and we were shocked when a crime was committed. Dinner time was family time and we sat around the table and shared our day.  Parents were the only legal dictators in the world and how they disciplined their kids was their business. 

Share your memories of the fifties, sixties, or seventies. I would love to read about your experiences and hear your memories. 

My book, Glimpses of God, takes you through the fifties, sixties, and into the seventies. My life was nothing special as a matter of fact it was quite ordinary.  It is this ordinariness that we are missing in our modern age. I invite you to buy a copy of Glimpses and I am willing to send you a no obligation sample chapter from the book. All you have to do is ask for it. 

For a free sample sample click here:

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Boomer = Antique ?

The Gold Medal Class of Nathan Davis Public School 1967
I am in the 3rd row from the front, 2nd from the left - goofy looking with black glasses.

Above you can see the graduating class of Nathan Davis class of 1967.  I was a member of this memorable class but was really a junior member because I transferred in to this public school from a private Catholic school named St. Joseph and St. Anne in the Brighton Park community in Chicago Illinois.  

The year went by in a whirlwind so I wasn't able to make many lifetime friends between September and June of that year.  I doubt if many of these people would remember me today.  We had some characters in this class.  The alpha male was a kid named George. He loved to fight and loved to fight this hillbilly kid named Paul. Paul wasn't in our class but that didn't stop George from taking no insult from Paul. Paul had a bad habit, he was breathing the same air as George and he could not keep his mouth shut. Once every week or two the word would go out through the grapevine that there was going to be a fight after school.  The ass kicking would take place next to the laundry mat on Albany and Sacramento. Paul and George would get into it and two minutes later, his honor avenged, the fight would be over and Paul went off to lick his wounds and prepare for the next beating.  I just could not understand why Paul just couldn't shut his mouth around George. It did not make sense to me. 

As a new kid, I was fair game for bullying.  I accepted most of it with good natured humor and just kind of tried to blend into the woodwork as much as possible. Soon they grew weary of the game and started treating me as if I belonged.  In the boomer years being hazed was just part of the game.  It happened to everyone, except of course George, and you just got used to it. My eighth grade year was good.  I actually got fairly decent grades. Not honor roll but no failures. 

The other day I was looking at photographs on Flickr and happened upon one user's collection that featured a copy of his father's eighth grade class, circa 1967.  He described thus; "Scan of antique photo showing my father's grammar school graduating class."  Antique?  Good grief man, antiques are old things.  Something from 1967 can't be called an antique!  I felt so old when I read that.

Growing up on the Southwest side of Chicago was not always easy. You had to contend with all sorts of things, such as grumpy old ladies that hated baseball at seven in the morning, roller coasters that would attempt to pummel you to death, flying nuns intent on sending you to be with the Lord because you raised your hand.  On the other hand, there were many good times. Everyone who has read my book has loved it. I've sold enough copies of it to keep me securely employed at my day job!   This book is available at Amazon.com and at American Star Books.  The link below will take you directly to my page on both sites.  

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A free, no obligation, easily erased, sample of Glimpses of God  the story of growing up in the sixties and seventies on the Southwest side of Chicago is available for the asking.   (Click Here)