I'm a liberal pagan living in West, Texas. Yes. That West, Texas.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

.......1972..I AM WOMAN...HEAR ME ROAR......










This is the year that is the beginning of three years of trials and tribulations..mostly....trial...
I knew t
his was going to be difficult, but I didn't know how difficult till I woke up this morning fresh from a hellish nightmare..so you will see me be doing a little dodging and evading for this year, 73 and 74...but I hope to dazzle you with bullshit and funny stuff....if not?..well, tought shit..
I got my divorce from Bill C. in '72..and I know I have told this story before, but alot of you are new and haven't heard me tell it..so here 'tis..
I told you Brian B. was my best friend..well, he and I would go
out and drink, raise hell and shoot pool..I am good...Or at least I was good, don't play much any more..But back in the day I supported my drug and most of my drinking habit with my winnings from playing pool...I used to go to the pool hall after I had taken the boys to school and would play golf and 3-ball...look it up..they are tough games.. I played every day with all of the judges, lawyers, clerks, etc. in Roswell...I took all their money...might have had a lot to do with the see through blouses I would wear, but I like to think I was just better than them...so one of the lawyers that I knew became a Judge..and when I went to court to get my divorce he was the Judge...he was in a panic..he knew full well what I was capable of ...We were supposed to be there at 10am..so Brian and I started drinking Bloody Mary's at 7am..now remember I am a bartender and it's '72, so my outfits were just that..outfits..I had my black micro mini skirt, a see through blouse, no bra, boots(made for walking)and my bells...I still had my string of bells I wore around my waist...I told everyone that I wore them because no matter how fucked up I got, as long as I could hear my bells, I would know where I was...it actually made perfect sense at the time..now I can see some flaws in the theory...
So Brian and I show up for court and we're both drunk...The Judge takes one look at me and tells my attorney to make me go home and change that what I had on was not appropiate for court...So I went home and changed clothes..came back with a bra on, turtle neck and purple hot pants with flap that made it look like a skirt...they sent me home again...each time I had to go home I stopped and had another Bloody Mary...when I got back after the 3rd trip the Judge realized he was fucked...At this rate we would be there until midnight or till I passed out which ever came first...since I could handle my booze pretty good back then..I think it would have been midnight..so court is in session...on the way to sit by the Judge I goosed my attorney...every lawyer in Roswell, New Mexico was in the court room that day...(my skirts had brought them out of every room in the court house)every time I moved the bells rang...so in order to just get this thing on the road and out of his court room, the Judge says:"so, Mrs. C. can you tell me why you don't think this marriage can't be saved?"...I said:"Yes, I don't think this marriage can be saved because the only thing we ever did in bed was read, and the only thing we had in common was we both liked the Cookie Monster on Sesame Stree."....he banged his gavel said 'Divorce granted.....now get her out of here."...the court room erupted in applause and laughter...I strutted out of there, with bells a jangling...My attorney said he would do my next divorce for free...said no thanks...should have took him up on it...I also found out that the entire transcript of my divorce was hung in the hallway of the court house with a note by it saying ' typical divorce in state of New Mexico'..'
I also met Jack D. who was to become my third and last
husband and father of Maryjo...
My life may have been on the way to wreck and ruin, but
so was the Presidents...He started out the year by going to communist China to meet Mao Zedong.
Great Britain took over direct rule of Northern Ireland in a bid for peace..yeah, and how did that work out for you??
The governor of Alabama, George C. Wallace was shot at a political rally in Laurel, Md. by Authur H. Bremers.
Five men are apprehended
by the police in an attempt to bug the Democratic National Committe, headquartered in Washington D.C.'s Watergate Complex...heehee..which begins the down fall of Tricky Dick and his buddies...we should only hope the same happens for Forest Gump and his bidness cronies.
The Supreme Court rules that the death penalty is
unconstitutional...
Eleven Israeli athletes at the Olympics in Munich, Germany are killed after eight members of an Arab terrorist group invade Olympian Villiage. Five of the guerrilas and one policeman are also killed.
We bomb the shit out of North Vietnam on Christmas...Way to
go Dick.
But the music..oh yes, always saved by the music..'I gotcha'
by Joe Tex,'Rock Me Baby' by Johnny Farnham(love that
song),Abba's 'People Heed Love and He Is Your Brother.'
'Take it Easy'by the Eagles,'Jealous Guy' by John Lennon,'All the Young Dudes'by Mott the Goople and 'You're So Vain' by Carly Simon...Oh...kay...! Who IS she singing about?
'Me and Julio Down By the School yard and Mother and Child Reunion, America,and Domican by Paul Simon.Who can forget the ode to a rat? 'Ben'by Michael Jackson.Another
favorite of mine'Baby Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me' by Mac Davis, 'American Pie' by Don McLean, a song we have discussed, 'Horse With No Name'by America, 'Crocodile Rock and Rocket Man' by Elton John.'Layla' by Derek and the Dominoes.'You don't mess around with Jim' by Jim Croce and the 'Candyman' by Sammy Davis Jr..
'Lean on Me' by Bill Withers, 'Lets Stay Together' by Al Green, and a couple of hidden meaning songs'Brand New Key'
by Melanie and 'My Ding-a-ling'by Chuck Berry.'Morning Has Broken' by Cat Stevens, 'I can see Clearly'by Johnny Nash, and two songs that I love, and don't care how hokey the second one is..'The First Time I ever Saw His Face' by Roberta Flack and 'Brandy' by Looking Glass...'Brandy..you're a fine girl...''Long Cool Woman(in a black dress) by the Hollies, 'Papa was a Rolling Stone'by the Temptations, 'Heart of Gold'by Neil Young, and 'Song Song Blue' by Neil Diamond.
The Rolling Stones had 'Tumbling Dice and Happy.''Alone again Naturally' by Gilbert O'Sullivan,and of course'I am Woman' by Helen Reddy. Also one of the greatest 'head'songs...'Knights in
White Satin'by Moody Blues...Can't even begin to tell you how many times I listened to the Moody Blues while tripping..the one where you go thru the doors...hooboy...
'Starman' by David Bowie,'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'by Robert John, 'Rock and Roll' by Led Zeppelin and 'Oh Girl' by the Chi-lites...'Black and White' by 3-Dog Night, and 'Me and Mrs. Jones.Such great music...don't think they will ever be able to top the music of the 60's and 70's....
Deaths for '72 Mahalia Jackson and Oscar Levant...If you don't know who these two people are...shame on you..google them...Oscar Levant was one of the funniest mad men ever...and Mahalia Jackson was one of the greatest female singers ever...I forgot to include this when I was doing 1970...Jimi Hendrix died On Sept. 18th and Janis Joplin died on Oct.4th..I always said one of the reason's I didn't over does like they did, is they had better drugs..and more of them...
Births..Rob Thomas from Match Box 20 and Clef Jean from the Fugees...What was in? Afro's, bell bottoms, poncho's, platform shoes, prairie skirts, leisrue suits, wedge boots and wrangler jeans.... Jackie survived another year and rid her self of another husband...So far...........so good...

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I graduated high school in 72. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.

Lauren said...

Even though it was released on the "Machine Head" album in `72, "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple was, by far, the big hit in Motown that year. It may still hold the record on Detroit radio as "the most overplayed song. . .ever!!"

`73 was the first time I ever did Acid, and I was nearly killed in a car crash in April. It's not one of my more memorable years, for obvious reasons. . .

HUGGSS!!

Cassandra said...

You and those bells!

apositivepessimist said...

My little sister was born.

The infamous leisure suits or what we called safari suits...my "uncle" had two of them a blue and a green one...yep still wearing them suckers til the day he died.

I used to love my poncho as a kid...spinning around and having it flare out.

Anonymous said...

That sounds like so much fun JS... I'd like to play you in a game of pool one day. :) Fun even in the divorce... It doesn't get much better than to free yourself from shit.

You are a very good writer.

I've been to Dallas TX a few times and also through the panhandle once. I'm sure there is a wagon train headed out "West".

Nit Wit said...

72 was a really good year for me I was 16 and having a good time running with my friends and working as janitor of the base theater. I had my own key and usually cleaned between midnight and three or four in the morning. I also used to play Poker for smoke money with my friends parents. and camp out in the woods to party with my friends. Went from work to the campsite one night and found that my buddies had stolen 72 bottles of good wine from the Officer's Club and were busy getting rid of the evidence. Don't remember much of that week after that.

john said...

The I Am Woman song reminds me of the Battle Of The Sexes between Bobby Riggs and Billy Jean King. There is plan to have something like this today bet. any of the Williams sisters and Joh McEnroe.
I don't know if it will capture the same passion that the Riigs-King match brought. I'm sure not .

Big Pissy said...

Loved your divorce story!

Lawyers live for shit like that~they probably told that story for years around the courthouse. *LOL*

Unknown said...

I so wore an afro and bell bottoms. In fact I lived in them. Oh, and my granny glasses and Tom Jones hairdo. Sneakers is what I wore, but I never could get on to those platforms.

Unknown said...

SSSHHHH, don't tell the Boss that I snuck off to see Jackie Sue!

I graduated high school and got married in '74, all this soooo brings back memories. The music was the songs of my teenage-hood.

Notice that most of the fashions are back right now?

Nancy said...

My niece who is the same age as me, we would go out to Shooters dressed to kill and play pool with the cowboys. Bend over the table to take a shot, mini skirt, well you get the picture. We had the best times and always drank for free.

Thanks for the memories! :)

texlahoma said...

I was a hormone rich adolesent back then, girls with long hair and mini-skirts, those were the days.

TheWayfarer said...

I love Helen Reddy and Babs Streissand to death!!!
Elton John and Jim Croce too. Damn good year for music & me (that was the last good year for a cute li'l, doe-eyed, coal-black boy from Gary, IN too.
Thanks, for the memories, as B-B-B-Bing would sing.

Cyberoutlaw said...

In 72, Scott Muni used to play "Things From England" on one of the FM channels, can't remember which. But there was always great stuff that they never played here. Like Slade, Sweet, Sparks, Mud, Gary Glitter, Suzi Quatro.... Well, it was great if you liked glam!

JBlue said...

Warren Beatty?

You kill me.

Pixie said...

YDG that divorce story made me LOL. You have lead one hell of a life!