1978

1978

Woodbine Avenue

Overbrook

Philadelphia, PA

My age: 22-23

School- I started a graduate program at St. Joseph’s University.  I went at night.  My professor was terrible and one day she came to class, crying.  She was just named Adjunct Professor of the Year and she was moved to tears.  I couldn’t believe it and decided if she is the best, I wasn’t interested in this program.

Work-  I was hired as a credit collector for After Six Formal Wear.  That was one thankless job.  Many people do not like to pay their bills.

Music- Disco music was bumping in to Rock and Roll on the radio. In the bars, disco was played because it was so danceable for people.

• "Shadow Dancing" Andy Gibb
• "Night Fever" Bee Gees
• "You Light Up My Life" Debby Boone
• "Stayin' Alive" Bee Gees
• "Kiss You All Over" Exile
• "How Deep Is Your Love" Bee Gees
• "Baby Come Back" Player
• "Three Times a Lady" Commodores
• "Grease" Frankie Valli
• "I Go Crazy" Paul Davis
• "You're the One That I Want" John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
• "Lay Down Sally" Eric Clapton
• "Miss You" The Rolling Stones
• "Just the Way You Are" Billy Joel
• "Hot Child in the City" Nick Gilder
• "Love Is Like Oxygen" Sweet
• "It's a Heartache" Bonnie Tyler
• "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions" Queen
• "Baker Street" Gerry Rafferty
• "Can't Smile Without You" Barry Manilow
• "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams
• "Dance With Me" Peter Brown
• "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" Meat Loaf
• "Take a Chance on Me" ABBA
• "Sometimes When We Touch" Dan Hill
• "Last Dance" Donna Summer
• "Hopelessly Devoted to You" Olivia Newton-John
• "Hot Blooded" Foreigner
• "You're in My Heart" Rod Stewart
• "The Closer I Get to You" Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
• "Dust in the Wind" Kansas
• "Short People" Randy Newman
• "Use ta Be My Girl" The O'Jays
• "Our Love" Natalie Cole
• "Love Will Find a Way" Pablo Cruise
• "An Everlasting Love" Andy Gibb
• "Love Is in the Air" John Paul Young
• "Goodbye Girl" David Gates
• "Slip Slidin' Away" Paul Simon
• "Disco Inferno" The Trammps
• "On Broadway" George Benson
• "Come Sail Away" Styx
• "You Belong to Me" Carly Simon
• "Here You Come Again" Dolly Parton
• "Blue Bayou" Linda Ronstadt
• "You Needed Me" Anne Murray
• "Count On Me" Jefferson Starship
• "Baby Hold On" Eddie Money
• "Hey Deanie" Shaun Cassidy
• "Summer Nights" John Travolta &; Olivia Newton-John
• "What's Your Name" Lynyrd Skynyrd
• "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" Crystal Gayle
• "Because the Night" Patti Smith Group
• "Every Kinda People" Robert Palmer
• "Copacabana" Barry Manilow
• "Running on Empty" Jackson Browne
• "Whenever I Call You 'Friend'" Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks
• "Sweet Talkin' Woman" Electric Light Orchestra
• "Life's Been Good" Joe Walsh
• "I Love the Nightlife" Alicia Bridges
• "It's So Easy" Linda Ronstadt
• "I Can't Stand the Rain" Eruption
• "We're All Alone" Rita Coolidge
• "Hollywood Nights" Bob Seger

Movies

• California Suite
• Coming Home
• Grease
• Heaven Can Wait
• Interiors
• Midnight Express
• Moment by Moment
• Oliver's Story

Books
I was reading a lot of JD Salinger and a variety of Japanese writers from the 40s and 50s.

Travels

• I went up to the Boston area for the first time. I loved those coastal towns.
• I had friends in NYC so I would visit them on weekends this year.
• My friend, Sam, lived in Pittsburg and a group of us would descend on Sam's mother's house and spend the weekend.
• My visits to our beach house were limited to the weekends.

News Events-

• The pope came to Philadelphia and I couldn’t get enough of this wonderful moment.
• Egypt and Israel sign the Camp David Accords in an effort to secure peace between the two nations. The Nobel Peace Prize was then awarded to Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in October.  I dont knoIw why CI 
• NASA unveiled the first group of women astronauts. The group included Shannon Lucid, Margaret Rhea Seddon, Kathryn Sullivan, Judith Resnik, Anna Fisher, and Sally Ride. The women enrolled in astronaut training and completed it in 1979.  
• The first Garfield comic strip debuts in U.S. newspapers. Created by cartoonist Jim Davis, the comic strip focused on the life of a lazy and often sarcastic cat named “Garfield.”  And I think this guy is somehow related to my brother-in-law.
• The US Senate ratified the Torrijos-Carter Treaties. The treaties guaranteed that the United States would hand over control of the Panama Canal back to Panama by the end of 1999. And I wasn't even aware that we controlled the canal.
• After nearly 30 years The Volkswagen Beetle stops production having manufactured 20 million cars.  These were great cars for new drivers on a budget.
• The Japanese car Imports account for half the US import market following the energy crisis and increase in fuel prices that fuels demand for economy cars.  And our USA made cars did nothing to address this concern.
• Sweden becomes the first nation to ban aerosol sprays that are thought to damage earth's protective ozone layer. When this mandate was issued, many of us laughed at how ridiculous this law was.
• Serial killer David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam," was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.  I was surprised that he didn't get the death penalty.
• The US stops production of the Neutron Bomb which could kill people but leave buildings and infrastructure standing. We are so awful sometimes.
• The first Susan B. Anthony Dollar is minted on December 13th.  The coin was too big and got confused with the quarter and no one liked to carry this coin. 
• Indira Ghandi faces fraud charges in India. 
• Roman Polanski flees to France before he was to be formally sentenced for rape and other charges against a child. He hasn't been back in the country since then and he is still unwelcome.
• The People's Temple religious cult, founded by Jim Jones. He commanded his followers to drink poisoned punch, many of them willingly drank the poison but there was also evidence that several had to be forced by other followers and armed guards. There was a death toll of over 900 people, more than 300 of them were children. Jones was also found dead of a gunshot wound. 
• There were 3 Popes in just about one month. Pope Paul VI died. John Paul I became Pope from  August 26th, 1978 and died just 33 days later on September 28, 1978. Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II .
• The world's population is estimated at 4.4 billion  people.
• Karl Wallenda, founder of the Flying Wallendas, dies after falling off a tight-rope. 
• 98% of all American homes have a television .  I am one of the 2% who do not have a TV.
• The first test tube baby is born in England a girl Louise Brown, from  in vitro fertilization.  I thought this was creepy.

Family and friends

• Sharon, my sister, graduated from college. She moves back home which make life a bit more bearable for me.  Now I have someone to complain with me about the fact that we are college grads and we have to live with our parents.
• Now that I was working, my visits to the beach were limited to weekends.  That was an adjustment.
• It is an adjustment to go from lots of college friends to trying to make new friends with my work colleagues.
• I don't have a car so I have to bum rides from friends, hitchhike or take the bus through life.
• I went to Time Square for New Year's Eve. It was cold, crowded and exciting.