It's weird what you remember about your childhood. Like Richard Nixon ruining your summer.
Instead of sleepovers, swim parties, and the happy freedom you enjoy most when you're in elementary school, the summer of '74 I remember is the one I missed.
Thanks Tricky Dick.
I'm thinking about my Mom - glued to the televised Watergate hearings, addictively scanning the daily newspapers for emerging details and commentary, and tuning into the nightly news like it was church.
When Dad got home, it was all they talked about. By September when school started again, I was the only kid in the whole place able to identify every senator on the Senate Watergate Committee - and the names of everyone who testified in order of appearance.
While it was fun to temporarily be smarter than the teacher, it was earned by foregoing our annual ice cream making experiments (with fresh cream from a dairy farm nearby) Brady Bunch reruns - especially the Tiki idol episode, and other fun stuff you can't do if nobody wants to drive you there because they're glued to a screen showing a bunch of old guys sitting at long green tables and scowling.
Naturally, when this book, Watergate: A New History by Garrett M. Graff, came out I was intrigued. What did I remember, what did I misunderstand from my unique view as an elementary school Watergate “expert?”
If you’re interested in politics, history, and the events of ’74 that forever reshaped our cultural and political landscape – I can highly recommend it. Even if Nixon didn't take down your summer. Besides, it's as big as a doorstop so you won't even notice that this summer is almost over! (That's my elementary smart-ass coming out.) It is, as we say in adult-speak, comprehensive.
Seriously though - a really great read!
P.S. For a full immersion experience, add a screening of Blazing Saddles or The Godfather II – both released in 74. Bonus points for pulling together an all-polyester outfit for the occasion and enjoying a slice of Carrot Cake while watching.
Comments