Here are a few raw slices of life from 64 years ago (1954) that I've transcribed from notebooks and journals I kept. I'll assume that at this remove no one will be upset or feel I've violated anyone's privacy.

[summary in journals of letters and notebooks mid 50s]

Dec. 7   Knocked Buncie [Eugene Bunce, class of ‘55] down playing hockey & he was unconscious. Put ice on his face & woke him up.  Pete Marnane and Siegel took him to the doctors & said possible concussion & suffering from shock

Dec. 20, 1954 – stay home from school in the morning & print Roe’s [Rosalie Greenfield's] picture again. [I printed pictures at home, something I learned in 6th grade from Miss Alice Daldry in Photography Club] Mr. Lambert [minister at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sea Cliff] comes in the afternoon to see  Ma.  Ma goes to doctors at night. Uncle Tom died in the morning. [He closed himself in his garage and hooked up a hose to the exhaust of his Oldsmobile.] I did a synopsis of Julius Caesar.

De Mentia

Dec. 21, 1954 (?) Ma found out about Uncle Tom’s suicide and cried all day in the hospital. [She was in Belleview mental hospital for attempted suicide.]

“I wept because I had no shoes

Then I met a man who had no feet”

The first step toward making friends is to know yourself.

23^rd  Uncle Tom's wake. Go skating. Dobkins.

25^th  Open presents  3 shirts, wallet, belt.

Dr. Laughead predicted end of the world in ‘55 and tidal wave Tue. Dec. 21

Dec. 28  Meet O’mitty [Explorer Scout leader] who offers his ‘40 Pontiac for nothing .  Go look at Cucaracha [the brown Pontiac]. Battery needs charge and accelerator needs fixing. Today & yesterday were exceptionally warm & wasp eggs hatched in the attic.

Dec. 31, 1954.  Go down to Rocky’s.  Earl [Kruger] went crazy and a friend of Rockies too.  Made tape recordings etc. Walk Earl home.  1:45 go to bed.

Jan 2, 1955.  Sunday -- president of Panama killed.

Jan. 5.  Artie [my brother Art] learned from office about Pa and his crash by the Swan club with Ma in the car.  Pa goes to hospital. I go to basketball 7-9. 

Jan. 10.  Argue with Pinkard about whether wolfpack's organized for protection

              -- Costa Rica attacked by air

Jan 17-- listen to Pinkard & Pete argue about hidden record book.

Jan 28, 1955.  Dougie [Andrews] & Cherry [Campbell] are asking me whether I like Judy [Brown]

              (Dave calling and thinking about Carol Hincula)

Wed. Feb 2.  Write a book report on "Story Of Philosophy." Temp. 0 F

Feb 3  read "Story Of Oriental Philosophy"

Feb. 5 . . . down Hospital w/Pinkard, Geecho [Joe Bellafatto] & Dougie [Andrews] to see Porky [Bob Johnston].  Rocky [Don Rockwell] broke ankle & we met him in the hospital

Feb 7 - Betty and Ceil getting a bad reputation because of Happy [Francis, upperclassman]

Malenkov Resigns

(Working on LI Indians)

Feb. 9  read General Anthropology by Harry Holbert Turney.

Feb 9 – Sat.. . . Y.C. [Youth Center] to Valentine's dance. I danced with Ceil [Snayd] most of the night. I think she likes me. 

Sunday – Ceil apparently doesn't like me but I can't tell.

Mon - I'm not sure about Ceil. (Saw her at drugstore)

Feb 18 Carol doesn't like me.

              Lifting wedges [wood splitting wedges I used for exercise weights]

Sat. Feb 26 - I ate and I went with Pinkard to Amityville to get a lectern & table for his Alabama church.

(see epigram book)

Sat 12 March  I read "Understanding Human Nature" by Adler

Saturday 26 March.  Ma drank too much wine.

Tuesday 29 March  "these days" things seem ridiculous, for instance my mother and father appear foolish

List of subjects to remember on small notepad about trip to Alabama Apr. 6-  , 1955 [Pinkard took Nik Epanchin, Serge Yonov, John Storojev, and me to his hometown, Milltown, AL]

1. Serge’s cigar
2. Sleeping in car
3. Church
4. John’s crack-8
5. Pinkard and girls
6. Howard Pinkard’s wrecking truck
7. Flat Rocks
8. Rayford’s jokes
9. Brother Friday’s preaching
10. Mr Pinkard Sr
11. Biscuits
12. Cornbread
13. Mr. and Mrs Boling
14. Jim Worthy
15. Ripville
16. Serge and Deana Denney
17. Linda Welch
18. Slap, kiss & hug penny walk
19. 19 “Catfish Pinkard”

Jokes heard in Alabama 

1. quick pet  2.  Lost girls,  (A) drunk & fly, (B) push-ups.  3. The ants  4.  Soldiers grenade & outhouse  5.  Horse collar  6.  The specimen  7.  Archibald  8.  2 boys & brothel 75 cents  9.  HT & HT Brown

Alabama

April 10, 1955 - put money in birthday bank, sing in choir. Brother Friday preached [we were guests in a Baptist church]

11^th - swim naked at Ripville, went to Fairfax Mills

12^th - we went to Cheaha Park w/ Pinkard & Milltown students.

14^th - went to party at Wayne’s where I made out with Linda welsh [President of the Milltown High School Biology Exchange Club; I was president of ours; Pinkard formed the International High School Biology Exchange Club for students in different schools to exchange regional material.  Sea Cliff was Alpha, Milltown was Beta.]

Monday 18^th April.  Fought with Blumhiggin 7^th period.

May 1955.  Ortiz [Wm] was painting the windows, porch black & grey. He carries his ladders on his car roof. I tried out some of my Spanish with him.

-- Hydroponics project

Sunday 22 May – caught 2 blacks [blackfish, rockfish] spearfishing at Tilley’s

Monday -- . . . I think that a girl likes me

--Betty working in Dobkins

--read Machiavelli

Wednesday June 1  -  at Dobkins I talked with Kay [Parks] about a girl

June 3^rd - 53 seniors clipped to go to Jones Beach.

June 6 – Pinkard had a fight with little Duffy & was hit in the head, bleeding all over chem lab.

June 7.  Pinkard apologized for his actions yesterday.

June 18 - spied on girls swimming in the dark at Tilley’s.

June 23 -flew to Chicago & from there took bus to Minneapolis. [on the way to my summer job as a digger on an archeological project in S.D.]

14^th  we waited in Minneapolis from 6:30 AM. Until 12:30 PM.

After meeting Wes Hurt [Prof. Wesley Hurt of Univ. of SD, the dig leader] we took in a movie & had a drink before going to the camp.

June 26 -- I was writing a song for Judy's birthday [Judy Cobb, baby sitter for the professor’s son]

June 30 - we went to a dance in Akaska where I got drunk

July 1^st  - Oscar [Muscarella, grad student from City University of NY] hypnotized Ticky & tried it on Judy but no good. I looked at insects dying under the Coleman lamp while the others were singing.

2^nd  Ticky & I walked up and down the street and talked w/a girl named Ida while the others went to a movie.