The 1980s part 2

   Earlier, I wrote about the extreme early 80s. That was a time of life known for a LOT of transition. The transition actually started in 1979 with a move to North Carolina, but we're are in the 80s now, damnit (I wish)! By the end of 1981, the Moore family was finally stable. We had bought a new house, my sister and I were firmly back in the high-level Wilson School District, my dad was happily back at his engineer position at Gilbert Commonwealth, and my mom was working part time at a college library. I think what set 1981's end as cementing our new phase of life was spending Christmas in our new house now that Nana Moore had passed the previous summer. With that auspicious ceremony, we move into...

1982

As this first full year of Reagan's first term dawned, I was still in the classroom of who might have been the grumpiest frowniest senior citizen of a teacher I ever had:Mrs. Fromm.  Even her semi attempts at smiling were akin to a grapefruit that needed to go. I remember her being on my case pretty frequently...as my learning style apparently demanded. Even on the last day of school in mid June, she whispered to me as I left her room for good, "Get your head out of the clouds!" I think she probably said the same thing to another classmate named Jeff Keiss, who was my cloud soul brother that year.

In January I caught a small vacay for myself, though not a pleasant one. I was diagnosed with croup the day after Super Bowl XVI, where the 49ers kicked the Bengals' asses! I was home all week on meds and developing a love from Ocean Spray cranberry juice as my breathing slowly improved. We also had several snow days that winter.

As I came to understand later, there was an interesting system to snow emergencies, or rather ice emergencies. If the roads could be cleared for buses in good time, school would be delayed for an hour, maybe 2, and it wouldn't necessitate a make-up day. However, if the plows and road salters couldn't keep up, we'd have a day off that would have to be made up. The winter of 1982 created several make-up days in June.

In the meantime, I was getting into a good groove of walking to school with either Jeremy, Eric, or Tommy and back home with at least one of them usually. Occasionally I went home with another friend form class, A.J. Geiss, who wanted to be a fireman (we'd always watch "Emergency" when we got to his house). I would sometimes play at Eric's house. He had a toddler sister named Maari who loved it when I came over to play or sleep over. Other times I'd enjoy Jeremy's basement because he had an Atari 2600 (soon after an Intellivision) and made me thirst for my own video game system. Jeremy was also into a cartoon called Star Blazers, a Japanese import that told of a group of Earthlings traveling in a rebuilt Japanese WW2 battleship to fight the Gamilons and Comet Empire...my new favorite show for the next couple of years!

At some point, Mrs. Fromm got a student teacher from Kutztown University. I do not remember her name, jsut that she was a young, friendly, energetic African American woman we were sad to see go when her time was up! She was a pleasant break from Fromm (haha) as she taught us more and more subjects.

As the summer dawned on us, our family decided to skip Michigan as we had seen enough of it in 1981 (4 visits)! Instead, we took a few days to check out Washington D.C. That was a neat trip as I recall. I remember seeing the White House, Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol, the Smithsonian, and some museums I didn't care for then. We also did some paddle-boating on the Potomac, now THAT was a fun evening activity!

Apart from that, the summer was spent at the park behind our street. A nice thing about those Spring Township neighborhoods (due to taxes and HOA dues I am sure) was that they provided summer activities at the various parks. We did crafts, went to movies or miniature golf places, even walks to McD's for ice cream in the evenings.Come September, more specifically Labor Day, we had 2 days to get our affairs in order before returning to school. The general rule was, once the Jerry Lewis telethon aired, your summer was shot! 

Shortly before school began, I joined the local soccer league. I wasn't very good at first, but with running laps and good coaching by Mr. Guzowski, I got better, and my legs got some decent strength. I wasn't Pelé by any imagination stretch, but the kicks got straighter at least.

I entered the 4th grade in fall of 1982.  Talk about a complete reversal from 3rd grade! I had THE coolest teacher in my whole Wilson student career that year in the person of Ms Susan Christman. If Mrs. Fromm was an expired grapefruit, Ms Christman was a blossoming orange tree. She had a bright cheery attitude pretty much every day, and made learning fun. As 4th graders, we learned all about Pennsylvania that year, from our own county to the state's history. We also did class switching for reading and leveled switching for math. I was in the high group the first quarter in Ms Vickery's class. The second quarter, I was in Mr Carly's room for multiplication. 

Coming with me from Mrs. Fromm's room were Mike and Kevin and Lisa and Mark, maybe a few others. Michelle Sattazahn from Mrs Lambert's class was also there. Marcus Turner, another kid from my neighborhood, was in that class as well. We got along sometimes, other times not so much (amazing how it is easy to look upon the past with a smile and a laugh). I made a new buddy in Jake Birmingham that year. He lived in the nearby neighborhood of Drexelwood.  Sometimes I'd go to his house, we'd get homework out of the way, then play afterward, then one of my parents would pick me up.

One thing I remember distinctly about 4th grade is that the rumors about who likes whom were rampant, whether they were true or not...that hasn't changed much! I was pegged as being engaged to classmate Barbie Reinish, when my focus was on someone else....Lisa, who definitely did not reciprocate. A clever if accidental subterfuge on my part! 😉

Sometime in 1982 (I believe) my dad had a wood stove installed in the family room, a device that really put out the heat (when metal turns red, yeah it is hot). He also installed a fan system to blow the hot air to the upstairs hallway, a definite winter fuel savings device!

That year I turned 10 with a small celebration at my house...the opening of hunting season, which was why we always had the Monday after Thanksgiving off. At Christmas, there were 2 big surprises. First, we got a puppy, a Scottie named Mac(Tavish). Second, I got an Atari 2600! I also got the "Empire Strikes Back" soundtrack. What a great way to end the year!

1983

What I recall from the winter of the 1983 specifically is a 3+ foot blizzard and a bout or 2 of strep throat. Just that illness that goes pretty frequently around the playground at recess. A small bout of chicken pox went around that year as well with 1 or 2 students being away for a bit. 

Apart from that, I was enjoying my new Atari a lot. We moved it to the guest room that had the old black and white set (killing the color but not the fun) so that I wouldn't be nagging to play since the family didn't particularly care about playing video games with me when other important shows like Greatest American Hero were on.

In school, the Pennsylvania learning and projects were still in full swing. One project I enjoyed was the salt and flour state map art project. I tried that with students this year, then I recalled that Ms Christman had hard floors (most of the school did) so cleanup was easy then. Carpet is another hell! We also had an all day field trip to several historic sites like Daniel Boone's homestead and a few monuments in downtown Reading. I HOPE those haven't been torn down in recent times!

One cool memory I have is in math. I was put in Mr. Sweigart's room as I'd had trouble on the fractions pre-test (he had the struggler's class). A few weeks later, before school, he stopped me while coming up the stairwell and said, "Bryan, I was playing Monopoly with some buddies last night. I landed on Chance and the card said, Bryan go immediately to Mr. Carly's room for math, don't pass Go, don't collect $200!"He then showed me the 100% I got the the recent test and gave it a bog old smooch! 

Folks, that is the kind of teacher I have tried to model my style after, to varying degrees of success.

Ms. Christman also had a nice student teacher early in the 2nd half of the year...her name fails me as well.

That winter, my dad decided to get the PRISM premium channel. This required one of those decoder boxes on top of the TV. Star Wars was playing a lot at that time and I watched it whenever it was on. Unlike HBO, PRISM put rated R movies on in the daytime and, as I discovered a few years down the road, late at night they'd show some softcore material. I led quite a priviliged  life!

There was an event that many of us were waiting for, a life-changing event indeed! It had been anticipated for about 2 years. You guessed it, it was the day Reagan put some new flavor jellybeans in his jar! No, just kidding, it was the May premiere of 'Return of the Jedi' in theaters! Mr. Lightsaber Duel Fan himself was ecstatic when it happened and I watched it...a funny thing, though...then it was cool, now I see it and realize the faults storywise (compared to entries of the past 21 years, it still reigns supreme!).

On the last day of school we had field day as always, except we were no longer playing the little kid stuff, we were into the real sports. We got out at lunchtime and had a sad farewell with Ms Christman. Luckily, we got to see her again soon at her wedding to Mr. Southworth...she is currently Ms. Christman again, I'll leave that to your own surmisings!

The summer of 1983 was pretty fun as I recall. I still spent time with my buds and the park group activities. We as a family went to Michigan for a bit. I remember my dad working the morning, then we left early afternoon, having a picnic dinner at one of the rest stops on the Turnpike. We ended up getting to my grandparents' house just before midnight. Detroit is definitely prettier at night than in the daytime...kind of like Vegas!

That summer I also went to Binden Wood day camp run by the YMCA on South Mountain near Wernersville. That was a fun experience. I learned quite a few things (archery, shooting), became a better swimmer, and just enjoyed the outdoors. We even had a sleepover night near the end. 

I was also riding my bicycle more that summer, getting more confident. 1983 was also the year for movies. Aside from ROTJ, I saw 'Superman 3', which was cool at the time, I have since revised that opinion to Richard Pryor not belonging in a DC hero flick. I also saw 'Wargames', makign me want a computer!

I decided to give soccer another turn, but this time I wasn't really into it and dropped out shortly after the season began. I opted for bowling on Saturday mornings instead, something I'd be sticking with for a few years. The local bowling alley was fun and it had some decent arcade games that kept up with the more expansive arcade at the mall at the time.

For some reason, our school district decided to try an experiment with starting us a week earlier  than usual, on August 31st! I have gotten used to starting school in August as a teacher for sure, mid August even! Back then, though, it was a travesty!

In 5th grade, I got Ms Kalbach. She was ok, not quite as spirited and fun as Ms Christman, but she enjoyed reading novels to us. Coming with me from 4th grade was Jake, Mike, and Marcus and Michelle. I met a new buddy in Mike Stout that year as well. He had an Atari as well and introduced me to some games I didn't have. 

Two events from that fall stick in my memory. The first is the shooting down of a Korean airliner by a Soviet MIG. There were a LOT of fears about World War 3 stirred up by that. The second event was the accidental death of WPVI channel 6's favorite weatherman Jim O'Brien. He was a Philly TV fixture and favorite for many years. Did I say 2 events? I meant 3: the cartoon debuts of G.I. Joe and  steroid-injected (oh sorry, MAGIC SWORD TRANSFORMED)He-Man were the talk of the 5th grade!

For my 11th birthday, I got a bowling ball to go with my new Saturday activity. On that birthday, I also got to go with my dad to work. Now, this is where fantasy and reality can have a fascinating collision. You know, sometimes as a kid, you have a vague idea that your parent is out there doing amazing things, and as an engineer, my dad is awesome! He is very professional and well-respected and could have worked anywhere he really wanted. That said, watching him do work is, well, equivalent to watching mosquitoes mate, at least to a newly 11 year old who really didn't get it. He arranged for me to meet some people, including the main computer guy, who help run the whole show. One thing I do remember is the draftsmen who were a bit loud at times. Sadly, those people have been largely replaced by technology, like other old jobs that no longer exist.

That Christmas, there were no grandparents as it was their year to go to San Diego. That was ok, we still had a good Christmas, I got some new Atari games and the Return of the Jeid soundtrack....only a single album release with many scores missing. though I forget what else I got...oh yeah, clothes! Hell, I can't remember all!

Up next, part 3: 1984-85

The 1980s, part 1

    Recently, I wrote a little article about the 1970s from my perspective, meaning I was only 7 when the decade ended, so there was only so much nostalgia I could muster up for myself, even when I was hypnotized!

   The 1980s, however, are just a little bit clearer...for the most part. We all know that as you get older, the childhood memories begin to fade. Granted, we can't remember all of the little moments of each day...and honestly, who would want to? I really do not want to relive the 3rd grade...but more on that later!

   Without any further ado (Greek for preliminary nonsense legally required by the blogging syndicate), let us get to the 'stuff'.

1980

For the most part, 1980 was a pretty good year in my eyes. We were living in Wilmington, North Carolina at its start. I was in 1st grade at Pine Valley Elementary while my sister was in 5th at Wilson Intermediate. We were getting acclimated to living in the south, though my dad was finding that his new job was not quite what he thought it would be. In fact, he was hating it and wanted out. We were in a good neighborhood and both my sister and I had friends to play with. My mom was starting to look into becoming a substitute teacher. On the leisure end, we joined the local YWCA to swim in the pool, we went to the beach occasionally, went to the local waterslide, and saw a movie here and there. In fact, I saw the best Star Wars movie ever while we lived there: The Empire Strikes Back!

Around late spring or early summer (there it is hard to tell), my dad quit his job and rejoined his former job in Pennsylvania at Gilbert Associates, meaning he was gone quite a bit. We took a trip to PA in August, pretty much for my parents to start house-hunting, and stayed with our old friends the Kirkners. That was a nice reunion as I recall! When we got back, school had already started and I was a day late for 2nd grade. My teacher Mrs Sole was pretty nice as I recall. A shame I did not get to know her more than 2 months. 

The moving truck did its thing on Halloween and my sister and I got some trick or treating in while they were finishing up. We stayed in a motel in Wilmington that night, then left North Carolina for good the next morning. We stayed for a few days at a hotel in downtown Reading. What I remember most about this short stay is that Ronald Reagan was elected in quite a landslide!

After a bit, we moved into a rental house in Shillington. Even though we were a small distance away from the Spring-Cumru township line, we weren't allowed a zone variance and had to take a long-ass bus ride into Governor Mifflin territory. My school was Farview Elementary. One thing about that school was obvious: I didn't like it and it didn't like me. I made no lasting friendships and the teacher wasn't too fond of getting a new kid. Luckily, it was only a 4 month stint.

In late November, I celebrated by 8th birthday at home. We ordered pizza and I got some new Star Wars toys, in particular the Millenium Falcon and Hoth battle set. Somewhere in this period, we had gotten my grandfather's Ford LTD and no longer had the Torino. A few weeks later, we did our final Michigan Christmas trip. LIke Forrest Gump once said, it's funny how you remember some things and other things you don't. Around this time, I was getting into highways and maps. On that trip I was paying a lot more attention to exit signs and what highways they led to. Almost 40 years later, not much has changed in that department.

1981

The misery of living in the rental house was continuing, though there were some amusements. I discovered the joy of voice recording on a cassette recorder as well as listening to a Bill Cosby record we had. Apart from that, the long bus rides were getting old fast. The morning commute was ok, it was the after school one that bit! I had to take a bus to my sister's school, which was apparently grand central where everyone tranferred on to a new bus for their correlating neighborhoods. That bus had a VERY long commute!

Luckily, those bad things came to an end when we moved into our new bought house. It was already bette rbefore we even moved in. A nicer neighborhood, Whitfield Elementary was an easy walk away, and there was a park behind our yard. In the first week of March, I started in Mrs. Lambert's 2nd grade class! Like any new kid, it is tough to make friends at first, especially when you're a geek, but this climate was already friendlier than the one I had just left! I quickly found out that I was behind the class in one subject: cursive writing!  Whoa, that was a new world for me and only recently have I begun to master that fine art. 

For the first part of the year, I went once a week to an eye specialist to help my eye muscles strengthen (I had had an operation 4 years previous). By early summer, I had enough of those and I think the specialists had enough of me. Ah, mutual parting is sweet!

In early summer, my Nana Moore passed away after years of cancer and its (then) brutal medical treatments. We were in Michigan for about a week for the funeral and other arrangements. My sister and I stayed with our other grandparents for the most part while the Moore house took care of business, though we went to the funeral. We actually ended up going twice more in the summer to Michigan, the second was more like a vacation (on that one I saw Raders of the Lost Ark!) and the last was a quick weekend via plane, though I don't remember what for. 

In the spring and summer, we were also taking care of an infant son of one of my dad's coworkers while the mom went to work.

That fall, Kristin went to 7th grade in junior high while I was in 3rd grade with possibly the most grumpy unsmiling elderly teacher I can remember EVER having that has given me grades, and that includes college! in that class, I met a lot of people who would be staying with me for the next ten years in some class or another:Mike Eisenhower, Nelly Harding, Kevin Fehr, Eric Wanner, Mike Smith, Drew Manderbach, Mark Dusko, Lisa Azzolina, and Derek Coller. With the exception of Lisa, I keep up with the rest of those people well on social media and/or email to this day.

I also met 2 kids in my own neighborhood that fall: Jeremy Bitz and Eric Kuehn. Jeremy was a grade below me and Eric was three grades below. We formed a good friendship among the three of us with our own ups and downs for several years. Jeremy had a pretty cool basement with a lot of toys and gadgets and Eric had a new bunk bed where we had many sleepovers. There was a fourth named Tommy, but he left a few years later and he was originally Jeremy's bud. I also had a next door neighbor my age and a boy in Jeremy's grade named Jared, but neither of those kids really took with me...both could be jerks quite often.

That fall, my mom, after being stay-at-home for the most part for 10 years, she got herself a part time job in the library at Penn State Berks Campus. I was a latchkey kid for the first time in life!

I discovered a really cool Halloween celebration that year at school. At lunchtime, we had the option of going home and changing into our costumes or bringing our costumes and eating a cold lunch at school. When everyone came back, we as a school walked a sidewalk route in a parade then returned to school to party hardy!

In November, I had my 9th birthday and held a party at the bowling alley. I sucked as a bowler then but it was still fun. In December, we took a trip to Michigan for my grandfather's wedding (quite a turnaround from his wife's funeral 6 months previously, long story there). I definitely remember some snow on the way there, always a winter Turnpike hazard...and a kid's thrill!

A few weeks later, we had our first Christmas at home since I was 3! A real tree from a farm was decorated and we had our friends the Kirkners over on Christmas Eve. Plus, my mom's parents were in, so it was quite a special Christmas! I remember getting a bicycle as the big present, though I wasn't good at it yet (I was a late bloomer on many fronts!).

Up next: 1982-83...

 

Helped Wanted....or is it Help Needed?

   I think I can say with all honesty that, at 47, I have finally achieved the satisfaction that everyone seeks in their paycheck climb over the years...lots of Federal taxes and medical deductions that teenagers can only dream of!

   Of course, one cannot just start with those deductions, one must work for them. Not only that, one must go through a steady succession of jobs in life to really appreciate that point when all that crap is taken out! You can't just expect to come out of high school with the dream job of working the McDonald's counter on a plumber's crack salary! Looking back at my humble job beginnings, the minor wealth that could only come from minimum wage has certainly crossed my path a few times!

   At the age of 12, I scored the preteen job of a lifetime: delivering the Merchandiser ad paper around my neighborhood once a week. If you are scratching your head on this, the Merchandiser was (or is) equivalent to the Nifty Nickel papers I often use to light the charcoal. I did this for about a year for $20 a week. It was ok and gave good exercise, but it was more employment than a 12 year old like me wanted, so I reverted back to the $5 a week allowance I got for home trash-hauling.

   This lasted until high school when the idea of making more substantial dough was becoming more attractive. After all, there were sessions at Friendly's or Ranch House or Pizza Hut after a school dance to pay for! Carnations for a girl who didn't want them, at least from me, on Valentine's Day! Gas money for a car I did not have! At first I tried the local Burger King, but they put me off too many times. The McDonald's across the way was a lot quicker. Within a few weeks of intense training, I was ably getting customers' change wrong, oversalting the fries, and on occasion mopping the lobby and bathrooms. For some reason the one thing I did not get trained on was drive thru...which makes me think there's a reason I have not risen faster on the teacher pay scale...a misisng skill set!

   The McJob lasted me about 6 months before I realized that I could not possibly build a career with a dental plan on a job where the uniform needed to be de-greased daily. After a few months of renewed unemployment, I got a job at the Ponderosa Steakhouse in Wyomissing, serving customers their dinners and refilling their drinks. The salary was low but the tips were pretty good. I did this job until nearly the end of senior year.

   Almost immediately following, I caught a break at my dad's workplace. Well, a DIVISION of his workplace, I wasn't exactly assisting engineers in designing nuclear missile silos. No, I was doing maintenance on their massive outdoor landscaping. That was actually one of my best gigs, if only for a summer. The mornings were early, and the shift ran to mid afternoon, but I didn't care. Mowing lawns, pulling weeds, watering the flowers, and getting stung by yellow jackets made for a lively summer, by the end of which I had made roughly a thousand bucks!

   Looking back, I wish I had kept that job for a few more months instead of going right off to college. If I had known my parents were going to relocate to San Diego the following January, I would have done just that. I didn't really have a job in my 2 semesters at West Virginia University, though the weekly plasma donations made for good snack money.

   Entering the San Diego phase of my life...one could call it the lowest in terms of job growth...I had an odd variety of employment.

   First, I worked a week stint at Ticketmaster with my mom for a baseball fan convention for an unheard of (to me) score of $300. That was a quick steal, probably the easiest gig ever. A bonus was that I met legendary Oscar-winning dramatic thespian Robert Wuhl, who looked on that day like he'd just learned he was't playing Knox again in the new Batman movie.

   Then came the vacuum job! There are almost no words to describe this debacle, except to say BLEECCHH! While the training made it seem easy, actually selling a vacuum cleaner, even with something as revolutionary (at the time) as cyclonic action, is not easy when you try to convince someone to shell out $1700 in cash or credit. After being sent to many different neighborhoods in the San Diego area for 2 weeks, I called it quits. I had not made dime one off of it and it was getting discouraging. After that, I did another Nifty Nickel delivery gig for a few weeks. It was weekly and didn't pay much, but it got me out of the house.

   Next up was a job as a demonstrater at the new Price Club (now Costco). It was actually a good gig for a few weeks, but you know how it goes with new places, they weed out the ones who don't meet their rigid criteria...the ones who didn't answer the call to come in at the right moment. Oh well! A similar opportunity came with a new dollar store months later. I spent several days stocking the store and one actual shift after the store opened.

   Luckily, I had just achieved a year of residency in California and could cheaply return to college. It is amazing what a year of bad jobs and lots of down time can do to raise the old GPA! I went from a 2.3 at West Virginia to a 3.7 at Miramar College pretty quick! I didn't really work at a job for some time...that is unless you count a tutoring gig where I helped some women (one of whom I devleoped a nice crush on) learn the fine points of chemistry. Another easy $300!

   The only other job I had in San Diego was a different gig at Ticketmaster, this time in the call center, during the summer of 1995. That was a good summer job.

   At Sonoma State, there was one semester where I had a lot of free time on my hands, so I took a job as a dishwasher in the commons dining hall. If one can withstand high pressure hot water with rubber gloves on, it's a good way to make money. The following summer, I worked on the painting crew, repainting the dormitory rooms. I remember that job quite fondly! I briefly worked one more time in the dining hall months later, but it wasn't doing much once a week, so I quit after a month.

   Following graduation in 1997, I had a few months of inertia, which didn't do my body or spirit well...I actually credit that time as the start of my path to losing m yneck to high weight due to eating like crap. It was probably a depression.

   In September of that year, however, I got into the world of temp work! It was an interesitng array of jobs I had. I started at a rubber stamp company for a bit, then a slightly longer bit at a plush toy company. The only pain of that was the commute between Santa Rosa and Petaluma! There was also a scrip company, a 1 day stint delivering Pepsi products to stores, filling new phone antenna orders, even a stint at the Sonoma State bookstore! It was fairly steady work, but the in between times could get bad. 

   Thank heaven, I applied to be a substitute teacher  that fall, and began that era of life the following winter. Well, what can you say about being a sub? You know you're not the real teacher and so do the kids! Luckily, I got to be a semi-regular at several schools all around Sonoma County for about 4 years, temping during the summers of 1999 and 2000 at an optical coating factory (the final summer of that had me working 6pm to 6am, hell on sleep patterns!). There were districts I'd end up working at more than others. Some teachers requested me (always a good feeling) and a few didn't like my style....most others just put in blind requests and I'd show up. It is a much under-appreciated job to be sure, something I have tried to be better at in my current status in life.

   I was juggling subbing and the teaching program at Sonoma State for a year, then when the schooling was over, I hit another depression bout. This one required me (on my own initiative) to seek some professional help). After a rough period, I continued to sub while seeking teaching jobs. The timing was bad, since the Enron energy scandal had California spending money for power instead of new teachers. I was also a newbie and probably needed some better interviewing skills.

   In the spring of 2002, I went to a recruiting fair for the Clark County School District, held in Fresno. As I was used to traveling all around for interviews, I figured why not? After the interview, I went back home and kept what I was doing. Then, 3 weeks later, I got a big packet from CCSD saying I was hired and gave a lot of information on what I needed to do before the school year started. 

   I really do believe that the depression begun the prior year was lifting in a big way from the moment I got that packet. Before long, I was enjoying that wonderful feeling of,you guessed it, those paychecks with the deductions and taxes!

   I probably have more varied work experience than some, less than others. One thing it has taught me is the easy expendability of people with a low skill set, be it professional or interpersonal.

   So, for those of you looking to broaden your working horizons, just make sure to take something you honestly believe you can handle....and try not to slip on the floor grease! 

All the President's Men

    "Here it comes," you moan. "Oh crap no! He's at it again. I thought the last time was it...I was wrong! He's...writing...a...BOOK REVIEW!!!"

   Well, ok, especially with that melodramatic build-up!

   Let's go back to the thrilling days of 1972. Lots of things were happening that year, especially in terms of my mom praying I'd get the hell out of her womb after more than 9 months. I do believe the Exorcist visited Michigan before going to work on Linda Blair. Gilbert O'Sullivan and Johnny Nash were proving that soft pop could be accepted just as well by the dumb public as great rock by Eric Clapton.

   And then there were politics. Dirty politics! In fact, up until the summer of 1972, nobody in America really knew what was going on. In fact, the media was quite different in the Year of Bryan. You had newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. Television news was centered upon one man named Walter Cronkite, who was the most trusted newsman in the nation. Well, there were other on-air anchormen for sure, as Cronkite couldn't get to EVERY network and station. 

   What you didn't have was the Internet, social media, and multiple talking heads on cable news outlets putting forth their opinions. It was a good thing to be sure, for people could hear/read the news and make mental exercises of their own without others doing the work for them.

   And that brings me to this classic nonfiction account of 2 reporters, 1 named Carl Woodward, the other named Bob Bernstein...er, Carl Woodstein and Bob Bernward, WHATEVER! The point is,they worked for the Washington Post at the time of a very odd occurence: the burglary by 5 men of the Watergate Hotel, home of Democratic National Headquarters when they were SUPPOSED to infiltrate the cocktail lounge at the Ramada across the way. These were not bright felllas!

   Almost from page 1(well actually page 13 once you get past the title page, legal mumbo jumbo and the 'cast of characters'), Woodward and Bernstein  start work on the case separately, discovering before long that instead of making calls and knocking on doors with failing results on their own, it was much better to start failing together! And fail they did, many times, for it seems that after the failed burglary, the people in charge, the Committee to Re-elect the Prez (CREEPS), have told their workers to shut up and not talk to anyone. 

   Slowly but surely, the two men make progress, getting good information from a bookkeeper, the CREEP treasurer Sloan, and parking garage weirdo Deep Throat (not to be confused with the porno of that name from the same year, though we don't know what this guy did after he left the garage). Adding in confirming stories before going to print, the two reporters get a lot of stories out which infuriates not only CREEP, but also the White House and the FBI, the latter feeling the reporters got stolen Bureau files.

   Despite their efforts, the rest of the nation isn't paying much attention, and none of their suspects lead directly to the man at the top, THE GODFATHER at all! Oops, I mean Richard Nixon. I told you 1972 was wild! A huge story on Watergate's link to White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman blows up in their faces and therre is general discouragement for a time. However, the editors, especially the managing editor  Ben Bradlee, decide to stand with the boys. 

   In early 1973, after Nixon's re-election and re-inauguration, the Watergate trials of the 5 burglars plus leaders G Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt, end without the public learning much about what really happened. This leads to a congressional inquiry where the reporters are consulted. Before long, it is revealed that the acting FBI director deliberately botched the original investigations and this leads to many other prosecutions, firings, and resignations in the White House itself. It is also revealed that there was a mass wiretapping operation and other dirty tricks aimed at discrediting the Democratic Party long before Watergate. The one thing that seemed improbable at first was any connection to Nixon...until it is revealed there is a recording system in the Oval Office itself.

   By the end of the book (published in 1974), pretty much all of Nixon's original fortress of supporters and yes men are gone and he is getting more paranoid. Lots of guilty pleas from the original set of the president's men have been entered and the reporters have been vindicated for all of their previous reporting efforts in 1972.

   The book itself is a tough read at times, as there are many names, often mentioned only once or twice. There is a 'cast of characters' of sorts in the beginning, along with a selection of photos of Nixon and his men, the head burglar, the judge, the senator, and the Post staff. What stands out are the selections from the reporters' articles that objectively state the facts. These 2 guys really pounded the pavement in seeking the truth behind the burglaries. Sometimes they crossed into unethical territory, especially when it came to confirming facts before publication, but that was often due to frustration from people not wanting to go on record.

    Overall, it is a great example of good old-fashioned journalism in the form of a detective story of sorts. If you were there when it happened, it serves as a marker of that dark time in American politics. If you weren't there or just born and not getting the gist of the world yet, there are many shockers in the second half, particularly when the acting FBI director Gray revealed many truths that no American citizen could have imagined at the time, a stark contrast to now, when there is supposedly nothing Donald Trump and his men wouldn't do to keep power.

   Two years after the book was published, a movie was released with Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein and Robert Redford as Bob Woodward (yeah, THOSE were the names!). It followed the first part of the book well, right up to the article about Haldeman, but showed nothing of the trials or Senate hearings, probably because the rough detective journalism story was over at that point. It was well acted, though I think the reporters could have been better cast. Jason Robards as Ben Bradlee was the best of all. 

   In conclusion, I highly recommend this book for good summer reading...or prison cell reading, whatever situation provides more time.

The 70s...B Moore Style

   About a month or so ago...actually, I can't tell anymore, time has become such an arbitrary concept in the past 2....months? Yeah, months, I think. Anyway, at some point in somewhat recent history, I hooked up with yet another pop culture history group on Facebook. This one is about the 1970s.

   I have a habit of doing this, hooking up with retro groups. Why? If you look around the world right now, the "now" isn't really all that much to brag about. The TV shows suck, the movies aren't worth spending ticket and snack money on, and do NOT get me started on the satanic Gregorian chants that are labeled as music these days!

   The way I see it, living in the past the THE way to be! No, we can't get the old days back and, sadly, I think we'd find the times were probably not as idyllic to us as adults as they were when we were kids, or even early adults. It wasn't all shits or roses or Riddler giggles, but we tend to remember a calmer time pertaining to where our lives were...most of us.

   One of the groups I joined is all about the 1970s. One might say here, "You FIEND! How dare you defile our glorious decade with mere childhood memories?" 

   This is true, I was merely 7 when the 1970s ended, although I can remember certain aspects of that decade somewhat well. Plus, endless oldies and classic rock radio listenings have given me good material, not to mention what I remember hearing back then. Also, there is the television of the era.

   The question is, how far back can I go without making up a lot of crap? This blog is about FACTS...at least according to me without any AP or Reuters confirmation. So with that in mind, let us travel back to, say...

1975- I must state right off that these memories are strictly images. I was, after all, 2 for most of that year. We lived in Plymouth, a western burb of Detroit.   Strangely enough, I remember watching Wheel of Fortune with Chuck Woolery (during its pre-botox-host years). Apart from that I remember watching Canadian kids programming (if https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV2P6P4p6Hg rings a bell, you are a Michigander , a northern USA citizen, or a jolly Canadian). I also caught this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EBar7BK8Mk , possibly making me a Marvel brat first before I transformed to DC. Apart from the media, I played with my friends Jodie James and Steven Lindrup. 

1976- We started the year pretty much staying a day or so at the Lally's across the street, as we had sold our house. We then moved to Wernersville, Pennsylvania. Our neighborhood on West Charles Street was pretty new at the time, lots of sky with no trees yet. In terms of memories, I remember little of the first half of the year. Pictures from the time help a lot, though. As for the last half, I distinctly remember going to nursery school in a church basement in Robesonia (a bit west of Wernersville) with my across the street neighbor Bethany Kirkner. In fact our moms alternated driving us to and from school. Even though he was 3 years younger, I played with her little brother Andrew as well as with our next door neighbor Cindy Hewing. The only one who was my age was Bethany, and she played more with my sister anyway. As for TV, I had Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, The Electric Company, and this little gem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYuAarJTKoI&t=19s. 

1977- A great year for movies, as well as clearer memories. I can say with pride that I went to see Star Wars that year! I did fall asleep about a half hour into it, granted, but I still can lay the claim. There were 2 big vacations that year. One was to Virginia, we drove all around that state and took in some good scenery and activities. I vaguely remember horseback riding and not caring too much for it even then. Seeing Monticello then eating some good fried chicken afterward is much more pleasant. We also took a trip back to Michigan without my dad that summer, going with my aunt and her baby daughter. That fall I started Kindergartedn, though I wasn't really with it due to thyroid problems. That led to lots of doctor visits and lots of blood tests....I grew to hate them for a long time due to that period. One last memory is my fifth birthday, memorable as I got my first record player along with many small 33s and 45s. In terms of TV, much of the same as 1976, though I was allowed to stay up until 8:30 to watch The Fonz on Tuesdays! Ultraman on channel 17 was another favorite.

1978- What I remember most from this year is the summer. First, we went to Disney World via train, and the train had AC problems right from the start. I remember the Howard Johnson hotel that had a great pool as well as the bus shuttle going bakc and forth formt eh hotel to the theme park. There were many rides I couldn't go on due to my age and size, but it was still fun. Also that summer my mom was watching two other kids for a friend who worked. We spent a lot of time outside playing with the neighbors and running through the oscillating sprinkler on really hot days. I made a new friend that year in new neighbor Matthew Brown. It was great to finally have a regular friend my age! He was also a Star Wars fan, and had some of the new toys before I did! Due to my thyroid issues, I ended up in Kindergarten again to catch up on what I'd missed while I was 'in space', so to speak. It was a much smoother year than before. 

1979- This year's first half was pretty normal for the most part, at least in winter. By the spring, changes were brewing. My dad was away more often, and my mom went with him on a trip to North Carolina while my grandparent 'Monny' Fitzmorris came to watch us. We all took a trip there to check things out and it was at this time that I got the idea we were moving. In June, after the school year ended, Matthew's mom threw me a going away party. Soon after, a big moving truck came with packers one day and the actual moving of property came the next day. We stayed at the Kirkners' house overnight, then took the official drive to Wilmington the next day. Like our Wernersville house had been, our North Carolina house was a new model and we stayed in a rented trailer for a few days until we could get in. There were some people in a neighboring trailer, the Masons, who watched me and Kristin on the moving day, even took us to the beach where I got my first real sunburn. That excursion did help me to be less afraid of the ocean, though. As the summer rolled on ahead, we got settled in more, got to know the local restaurants (Morrison Cafeteria at the Independence Mall and Shoney's Big Boy were my 2 favorites!), and hit  the local water slide a few times. I got to know the neighbor kids down the street the Simpsons (no cartoon relation) and played with them, but it wasn't the same as Wernersville, so we didn't get super close. I started first grade in the fall at a primary school while my sister went to 5th grade at an intermediate school. One big  school memory is having some of the coolest learning centers including a listening center with lots of book and record sets (Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby being one of them!) and watching the Electric Company after lunch. The Spidey skits were what I waited for, though I expect I learned some phonics skills here and there. A favorite new show? Buck Rogers in the 25th Century!

As far as specific year memories go, that's pretty much it. Some regular occurences were visits from either my mom's folks (Monny and Bompa Fitz, often accompanied by 'Aunt" Gerry Matter) or my dad's folks (Nana and Bompa Moore). Sometimes grandparents drove to us, other times they took flights. I always enjoyed going to the Reading Airport. It was a nice small-town terminal.* Sometimes my dad's parents would fly into Philadelphia...a less fun place!

*Side note: Bompa Fitz was what we call a funcitonal alcoholic, and he took me to the Reading Airport bar to have a whiskey sour or 2, watch planes land and take off, then drive home. He quit drinking in 1978 and the bar visits turned into McDonald's hot fudge sundae visits afterward.

We also took frequent trips to Michigan, especially for Christmas. I covered those trips in another article.

Apart from that, I just remember playing with friends on the street and enjoying being a kid. Everyone knew everyone on West Charles Street: us, the Kirkners, the Hewings, the Meckleys, and the Browns later. There was an Indian (as in India) family who's older daughters sometimes babysat me and Kristin when my parents had a date night. Another babysitter was Michelle Fritz, she was my favorite.

So that's my 1970s experience as far as I can clearly remember. Sometime I'll tackle the 80s, but I suspect it will be in 2 or even 3 parts, that decade is much clearer! Maybe next week, next month, or even next year...it's still fuzzy to me.

Mr. Moore's Top 7

   Welcome, America, to Mr. Moore's list of the top 7 years of his teaching profession, to date.

   But wait, you say! Isn't a list of this genius, this magnitude, this UTTER WASTE OF A FEW MINUTES  WORTHY OF 10 INSTEAD OF 7?

   My reply to that is yes, 10 is a better number. The problem is, in my so far 18 years of teaching, I don't have 10 good ones, I have 7. Put this into a musical frame to make sense...1987 had a lot of pretty good songs, not one of them being Rick Astley B-sides. They weren't even in the top 20 or even 100, nobody knows what they are anymore, nor do they give a rat's ass. The same goes for my  mediocre-to-middling teaching years thus far.

   So, summoning the spirit of Kasey Kasem ("Hey, Scoob!"), here we go with Mr. Moore's Top 7!

   Coming in at number 7, we have the 2007-08 school year. I was at Tom WIlliams in my 6th year there. It was my fourth year teaching the 5th grade and I had become quite comfy in that grade level. We had ended the previous year (meaning 3 weeks previously) in a portable classroom as work was getting started on the new school building. The first day of school had a nice little thunderstorm in the morning, which in Vegas is a good omen. This would end up being the last of what I would consider of good years at that school. The kids were awesome, in fact after count day, the class size reduced a bit here and there, and by the time we ended the year in the new building, I had less than 25 kids.

   Coming in at the number 6 spot is the 2012-13 school year. This was my first full year at Darnell Elementary, and my first year teaching the second grade. I was a bit nervous, but I had a great team of teachers helping me along: Sue Szepelak, Colleen Shiheiber and Liz Pittenger. The counselor Ms G roped me into a life skills play role and that really helped me to become recognizable to the school community, especially since I was fairly low-profile the previous year. In November, I turned 40 and the morning announcements team led by Mr. DeRose made a fun celebration of it as did my grade level. It was probably the most official welcome I'd had to the school as well as the best one I could imagine. The year ended on a sad coda with the loss of a coworker.

   At number 5, we have the year just previous to the above, the 2011-12 year. Now, this year was a big transition for me, as I was coming from a hellish time at Gilbert Elementary in August and September to 4th grade at Darnell in early October. A lot was going on with me personally and I think a lot of people could tell I was a bit shaky. My bosses definitely did, and got me a little outside help. I had trouble the previous year at Gilbert and the principal there had me sit and watch while the literacy specialist taught my class for 4 months. Not at Darnell. They had me work with a coach in the early AM time before school started so that I could still be an effective teacher. I also worked with a pretty cool 4th grade team who helped me to acclimate. I am forever grateful to Michelle McGarry, Kelly Epstein, and Christy Leveque for building my spirit back up that year, plus Patricia Cobb and Lynn Ivey for giving me awesome administrative support! Otherwise, that year might have broken me for good.

   Moving into number 4 we have the 2006-07 school year at Tom Williams. It was my 3rd year teaching 5th grade and I was probably at my best confidence level for some time. I was in a good classroom, had a great set of kids, and we built a really good class culture. Toward the end of the year, we moved into a portable in order to prep for the construction of the new school building. This year is also special as I got married in November. There was one slight downside: I had elected to be the grade level chair, only to find I lacked the finesse and organization to be great or even good at it! Fellow 5th grade teacher Angela Graus was much better at it! Eh, life's little lessons.

   Coming to number 3, we have the 2005-06 year. Like number 5, this was a fairly transitional year. I had just completed my first year in the 5th grade, which my soul had not been prepared for and had many bad notes throughout. Starting this new year felt a bit shaky at first, but after a short time I grew more comfortable in my role. I also had a good neighbor teacher in Dorothy Williams, and we had a good system of watching each others' classes when either needed a bathroom break. In the early part of the year, I also took a break from dating, which was taking a toll on my psyche. In the winter, I met the woman whom I would marry months later, which helped make this year transitional in a special way.

   At number 2 is the 2002-03 school year. This one is great because it was my very first year teaching, and for the most part it went smoothly. I was doing first grade, and I still had a lot to learn in terms of bulletin board creation and creating lesson plans that didn't take hours. You know, the little tricks and techniques they don't have time to teach in ed school. I was in with a great group of first grade teachers. Scott Gupton, Christy Shearer, Jennifer Plank, and Beth Danielson really helped me to get settled into my new time in life. I also met with some of them at happy hour on Fridays. It wasn't exactly a social life, that would come in later months.

    Finally we have reached the number 1 year, the 2013-14 school year at Darnell! Although I was asked to move classrooms, I was quite happy in the second grade and this year I had fewer students to teach. It was a great group. Also, the day before school started, we had a major rainstorm that resulted in much flooding due to a summer mountain fire that had decimated all of the natural water breaks. Not exactly pleasant, but any water event in Vegas is a good omen. In this year, I was taking some improvisational classes to improve my teaching style. I was also taking charge of the life skills plays in terms of casting and producing, which was further making me recognizable at the school. Now, that might sound like I was fame-seeking, when in reality other years saw me sitting quietly and just doing my job, not putting myself out there to shine. A few people were also starting to notice these little blog posts of mine, having spent some time in therapy since!

   And there we have it. To sum up, scroll back up and read this again! The Kasey Kasem seance only goes so far! This list may change with future school years who knows? SO much material, so much time to waste, it may come sooner than you think!

2019-2020... Welcome Back, Moore!

   As I sit here drinking my coffee and wondering what the hell else I can do to an egg to make it an exciting breakfast (an occasional pisser to low carb) , I can't help but think about the school year as a whole. This generally hits me about a week or so before the year actually ends most years, but it's been far from a 'most years' feeling.

   A year ago I had quite a different feeling, a feeling of YOW, WHY THE HELL IS IT HURTING SO MUCH TO TAKE A LEAK? Granted, that is not a yearly feeling, either. To tell the truth, if I had a choice between this year's and last year's ending, I'd take this year's hands down, because when you have a regular body function go apeshit on you, it can get scary. 

    I didn't know at this point last year what the pain was all about. I also had no clue what grade I'd be teaching in 3 months. Those 2 elements made for a very sad...and MAD...ending for me. I distinctly recall the morning that I was cleaning my portable for inspection. I was so pissed off about the lack of clarity of things that I went outside and smashed a coffee mug on the pavement to get some frustration out. You know I'm not to be bothered or touched if you see me sacrificing a caffeine vessel to the anger spirits, but that's where I was.

   Skip ahead about a month, and I have now learned 2 things. One, I had a kidney stone the size of Lake Tahoe, the second...I was going to teach second grade again. While it was not my first choice (especially since I had done seconds grade for a while previously), I was fond of that age group and was generally ok with it. 

   Skip ahead another month, and I found out that one of the new people tapped for teaching 5th grade had resigned, so I was sliding into that spot. At first I was leaping for joy...then I was told that the 3 of us would be doing a rotation schedule in which I would be the writing teacher. This one sounded odd. Surely, I know how to write fairly well. Teaching that skill all day long to 3 classes is something else. However, I was excited to do something new.

   Another factor in all of this was that I had not done 5th grade for 9 years, which is an eternity when you have a certain muscle memory for grade levels that ebbs severely when you haven't had that workout or routine for such a long time!

   In another lifetime, I had done 5th grade for 6 years straight at a different school. Before that, I had done 1st grade, and the transition to 5th was comparable to blocking a tidal wave with a Kleenex. That first year of 5th was hell to be sure, yet it taught me a lot about myself in terms of change and adapting...I'm not that quick at it, ESPECIALLY when making that transition in mentality in a 2-3 week period due to working in a year-round school! Coupled with being in a portable that had the Ford Pinto of air conditioning systems installed and you have grounds for a straight jacket!

   However, I got better in time, and later years were smoother. Well, mostly. The last 2 after moving into the new school building had a few problems, apparently, though it wasn't apparent at the time. The last 6 months there came down on me like Thor's hammer seemingly out of nowhere and I found myself opting to leave instead of taking on kindergarten the next year. The exit from that school after 8 years  was quiet and cold.

   I mention this because those memories came back to me last summer, wondering if I would fare well or say farewell again when the year was over. Those thoughts were interrupted when the kids came in and I had to scramble to introduce the year.

   It actually went well overall except for a few snags, which I cough up to experience. One tihng I had to do was take a Google class so I could get Chromebooks in my room, and I did much of this class during my healing week after getting the kidney stone shocked to smithereens. I embraced what I learned well...too well. It grew to my 3 c\lasses doing a lot of work and research on their computers. That is ok and all, but it also put a kink into my connection with the students. 

   It improved somewhat as the year went on and we moved into the building to improve the class rotations, probably the best move of the year! I had some more class rewards going as well as a grade-wide behavior plan, which helped a lot with a few behavior problems. Then the quarantine began!

   It might be too soon to reflect on that objectively, especially since we might be in that situation come August. I will say that working from home creates a lack of balance. When I am at school, I am in work mode and I know generally what I am supposed to be doing. When at home, I am not sure exactly what to do all day besides stay available to kids and parents. Getting up from the computer chair to make myself breakfast almost feels like I am leaving my class to take a walk around the school to get my steps in. Not being able to grade assignments took the accountability away from the kids and parents, though we as teachers were held accountable for maintaining contact with them for attendance purposes.  Google Meets with the class members who showed up were awakward. 

   There really is no substitute for face to face, folks.

   In terms of the kids, hey, I enjoyed all three classes!In every class I have ever taught, there are cool kids, smartass kids, argumentative kids, class clowns, sweathogs, and mobile comatose wards! This year was no different except that I had 3 sets of them daily. I have missed our daily adventures and moments these past two months, and the lack of proper sendoff  celebrations before middle school are still making me feel ill at ease, particularly since my own daughter Natalie is a victim since she is also finishing 5th grade.

   Next year? Like I said, we may be starting at home, maybe not. I am hoping to teach myself  how to better teach at home just in case.  If we do return to a more normal situation, the tech use will be more balanced to facilitate better teacher-student communication. That is one way I have grown over time, self reflection and taking that in a positive direction instead of mental torture. Been there, done that, won the t-shirt, used it as a stove-cleaning rag.

   So here's to a restful summer, here's to an even better next year...and here's to an omelette for breakfast!