Welcome to the 70's

In the TV show Lost, returning survivors are greeted by a return in time to the 70's. The music, the hair, the clothes are all throw backs.

All this 70's hoopla has created some big time Kodak moment frenzy. I even dragged out my photo album from college and poured over it for quite some time. I could barely recognize the girl with the long hair to her waist dressed in bell bottoms, a flannel shirt and construction shoes. 70's chic or was it faux hippie wear??

With all the bad economic news, nostalgia is the only way to go. I mean who remembers the bars "Mr. Entertainer", the Faba on Secor and the Tabard on Dorr St.?? Some very good times were held in those esteemed establishments and some very drunken nights. How about Charlie's Blind Pig on the corner of Bancroft and Westwood???

Then there was the entertainment. Martin Mull the actor/comedian appeared at UT as a newbie and his act was called "Martin Mull and his Travelling Furniture". He did a stand up act sitting on his couch. Needless to say as I am writing this it sounds pretty stupid...as memory serves, he was hilarious. The Fifth Dimension also played at UT and my friend Pam was pulled onstage and had the time of her life dancing with the band and singers. The FD is still a fan favorite of mine.

My best memory of college was our red rose fiasco. It was decided that we would place an ad in the UT paper for a date with one of us. The contact number we used belonged to Kappa Delta sorority ( one friend was an ex member...didn't pay her dues but she still had her key). The five of us "broke" into the facility on a Friday afternoon to answer the phone. It rang nonstop and we took turns answering and booking dates. All dates were asked to carry a red rose but different locations with close proximities were given to each and the time was to be 8 o'clock. The problem was that 8 guys would be waiting and there were only 5 of us....someone decided we would hide and check-out the guys first. That is how the fiasco stared. 8 unsuspecting guys waited in their assigned spots, some staring at each other suspiciously. The 5 of us hid and since a. none passed our approval b. we didn't have the guts to reveal ourselves, the poor suitors waited forever for their dates. We were long gone to a party by the time they figured out they were all stood up.

The 70's....I recall that frat guys were not cool, the Kent State massacre was very real, the Vietnam War was horrible, beer was cheap, gas was 19 cents a gallon during gas wars on Dorr St., guys had to stay in school to not get drafted, Vietnam vets were treated badly on campus, drug use ran rampant and hitchhiking was an acceptable form of transportation. When I student taught another student teacher was reprimanded for hitching to school. The term positive reinforcement in the classrooms was born ....we literally gave out tons of M&M's daily for good behavior.

Drunk driving was not a big deal in that era...no M.A.D.D. To not remember driving home is a scary thought. We picked up hitchhikers day or night. Naive, stupid or just a sign of the times?

I am truly glad that I lived through those times without killing myself. I sometimes wonder if that time was harder on parents than the 2000's. All I needed was a lap top and a cell phone and I would have been armed and dangerous.