Winnipeg Requiem

Although I've covered most of the interesting aspects of our lives in Winnipeg there are some things I left out because there's not much to say about them...

That's why I didn't talk about the Miekles and their daughter Susan - who was my age and as shy as I was - and everyone said she was pretty but I couldn't tell because she wore glasses and didn't wear makeup - I was that shallow...

And I didn't talk about that day in the spring of 1968 when Mrs. Weiss (mom's best friend from Philadelphia) called to tell us her son Tommy (a Marine officer and Annapolis grad) had been killed in Vietnam...

I left out how heartbroken I was when Mario Andretti's turbine car coasted to stop with three laps left in the 1967 Indy 500. And how thrilled I was when the Cardinals beat the Red Sox in game 7 of the 1967 World Series (thereby proving that the "Curse of the Bambino" was still in effect).

I left out how amazed I was the first time I listened to "Sgt Pepper's". (That was at the Miekle's house.)

I left out how stunned I was when Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek reelection and how devastated I was by the assassinations of both MLK and JFK...

And I left out how horrified I was by the "police riot" at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968 - when roughly 20 reporters were beaten - including Dan Rather and Mike Wallace...

And I didn't elaborate on what it's like to walk outside in a thick fur-lined coat and get hit by a blast of wind so cold that it feels like someone is sticking a knife in your ribs... Not that I've ever had a knife stuck in my ribs - I'm only guessing what it might feel like - it's a simile thing :-)

And I left out how much fun it was to go around to all the music stores and drool over all those guitars and amps I couldn't afford...

And I didn't mention the time I was walking past the bathroom when my sister Karina farted in there and I yelled "I heard that!" and she was furious at me... I've never known anyone who was as anal about bodily functions as Karina was (pun intended). She was such an incredible priss about it - she liked to pretend that rude noises didn't ever happen and was seriously upset that I overheard it... Of course, I had to keep mentioning it for weeks afterward... "Hey - I heard you fart..." After all - what are little brothers for? :-)

But it was still the best of times... Even with the bone chilling cold... For the first time since I was 8 years old (when we left St. Louis) I felt like I really belonged somewhere... I was actually happy...

I was enjoying going to St. Paul's - despite the rough start ... I had the best friend possible in Peter Paolucci - and I was getting along with most all of my fellow students.
BTW - I think it was because I had ditched the "I'm better than you" attitude that had plagued me since my childhood... Well - I didn't completely get rid of it but I became a lot less of an insufferable ass :-)

I was in a band with people I liked - playing music that I liked... And was actually accomplishing something that I could be justifiably proud of...

Yeah - by the summer of 1968 almost all of the pieces had fallen into place... I was waking up every morning with that "Life is Good" feeling...
Well, except for the morning when I hopped out of bed and stepped on the cat and she made an "Eeehhhh" noise... Turns out I just knocked the wind out of her - she was absolutely fine... But she gave me that "What did you do that for?" look - I felt really bad - and I digress :-)

The only way life could have been better is if my "dream girl" Helen and I had been together - assuming she wouldn't have been cheating on me :-) But I digress again...

Unfortunately, the summer of 1968 was also when everything fell apart for mom and sis.

And I got caught in the turbulence...