Branching Out and Taking Risks In the 1980s

By Lynne Gross

Summary: Branching Out and Taking Risks in the 1980s includes 72 illustrated stories, sprung from the pages of the author’s diaries, which she has kept since she was 10 years old. Most of the stories are based in the Los Angeles area of California while others are located in countries where she taught or consulted. They incorporate historical facts and sociological commentary on such subjects as: advisory boards, aerospace, Alaska, anniversaries, associations, Australia, awards, cable TV, cars, China, Europe, food, friends, Guyana, houses, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Olympics, parties, South Africa, Swaziland, teaching, traveling, TV Academy, TV production, universities, weddings, women’s issues, and writing.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9780359149933

Book preview

Branching Out and Taking Risks In the 1980s

Branching Out and Taking Risks in the 1980s: Book V of Diary Tales

By Lynne Schafer Gross

Copyright © 2018 Lynne Schafer Gross

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or retransmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to photo copying, recording, scanning, or any information storage or retrieval system without the expressed written permission of the author. Exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

ISBN: 978-0-359-14993-3

First Edition

Summary: Branching Out and Taking Risks in the 1980s includes 72 illustrated stories, sprung from the pages of the author’s diaries, which she has kept since she was 10 years old. Most of the stories are based in the Los Angeles area of California while others are located in countries where she taught or consulted. They incorporate historical facts and sociological commentary on such subjects as: advisory boards, aerospace, Alaska, anniversaries, associations, Australia, awards, cable TV, cars, China, Europe, food, friends, Guyana, houses, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Olympics, parties, South Africa, Swaziland, teaching, traveling, TV Academy, TV production, universities, weddings, women’s issues, and writing.

Preface

Background

The stories in this book and other books in this series were inspired by entries in my diaries. I started keeping a diary January 1, 1948, when I was ten years and nine months old, and I’ve written for every day since. I don’t remember anyone encouraging me to do this or giving me a diary for Christmas. I think keeping a diary is something I just decided to do. The summer before, I dug pictures out of an old hat box and started compiling photo albums--and I’ve continued to make a photo album every year. I imagine keeping a diary was a logical extension of making a photo album.

The early diaries (1948-1972) are divided into five years with a scant four lines devoted to each day. That’s short enough that I found it easy to keep up with making an entry each day, and now I find it long enough to jog my memory for the stories I want to write. In later years, five-year diaries were hard to find, so I purchased one-year diaries or notebooks and divided the lines myself so that I still wrote approximately the same short amount each day. My diaries are full of brief declarative sentences, especially near the end of the last line where I needed something short to fill to the end -- I read. I typed. I made dinner. Basically it is just the facts, with very little emotion or commentary.

The first three years were originally written in pencil. I happened to look at these penciled diaries in 2002 and saw that they were fading fast, so I decided to type their contents into my computer. I got wrapped up in the process and started thinking in more depth about the events that were mentioned. I decided to write a few stories to send to our three sons. One story led to another. Once I had finished inputting the penciled diary entries, I continued typing the inked years. More transcriptions, more stories to send to my family. I worked at the computer project off and on and finished transcribing in 2011.

I imagine I originally wrote in pencil because ball point pens hadn’t been invented yet. The pen and quill were gone, but I think the best we had when I was ten years old was fountain pens--ones that sucked up a small amount of ink from a bottle. They were messy, leaking often. Actually, the first part of the 1948 diary (January through June) is all in ink, but it is obvious that it was originally written in pencil and written over in ink. I found out why when I got to August 6, 1952 where there is an entry that reads, I started to go over this diary in some ink. Apparently I got up to July and never finished.

Although these stories started out as reminiscences for my three sons, I soon realized they could be of historical and topical interest to those who like to read first-hand accounts of events and innovations that occurred in the past--the depression, World War II, television, the Civil Rights movement, women’s liberation, computers, cable TV, the fall of Communism, the internet, the recession, social media, etc. The first two books, (one about the 1930s and 1940s and the other about the 1950s) contain many facts about Pittsburgh, where I was born and raised. The third and fourth books, this one, and ones that follow are centered in the Los Angeles area, where I’ve lived since 1959, but they also include information about the various countries where I taught and consulted. Because my jobs involved the media and because I am a woman who had a career and raised children during a time period when work and family life underwent many changes, I feel I bring a unique perspective to the social underpinnings of an important era.

Organization

Once I had finished writing about 300 stories, I felt the need to organize them. I vacillated between a topical order and a chronological one and finally decided on chronological. Of course, the organization is only roughly chronological because many stories cover years or even decades. A topical organization would have had the same problem because many stories cover multiple topics. Once I settled on a chronological order, I arranged the stories by decades:

Growing Up in the 1940s: Book I of Diary Tales

Coming of Age in the 1950s: Book II of Diary Tales

Starting a Career and Family in the 1960s: Book III of Diary Tales

Juggling Career and Family in the 1970s: Book IV of Diary Tales

Branching Out and Taking Risks in the 1980s: Book V of Diary Tales

Culminating Family and Career in the 1990s: Book VI of Diary Tales

Heading Toward Retirement in the 2000s: Book VII of Diary Tales

Giving Back in the 2010s: Book VIII of Diary Tales

Each story has been given a number. I-1 refers to book I, story 1; I-9 is the ninth story in the first book; IV-12 indicates the twelfth story in book four, etc. All the stories are short and breezy and written so that they can stand on their own while also being part of a larger chronicle.

The idea to make actual books for each decade germinated in 2010 and 2011. My original thought was to put one book together to give to my children and grandchildren as Christmas presents. It occurred to me that there might be wording and concepts my grandchildren would not understand because they were from a distant era. In the summer of 2011, I had my then 14-year old granddaughter, Molly Gross, read the stories from the 1930s and 1940s to tell me what she did not understand. She not only did that but also gave me excellent suggestions for improving the stories.

Once I had those stories in what I considered a finished form, I began going through my photo albums to find pictures to go with them. Then in 2013, I laid out the first book on my computer using Word and got it printed and published so it would be available to family members as a Christmas present. I also made it available through Lulu, amazon.com, and other outlets for friends and any others who are interested. I followed a similar procedure with the books that followed.

I’m glad I have written in diaries for most of my life and equally pleased that I kept them all these years. Today people don’t keep diaries of the type I wrote. They write blogs, Facebook entries, journals, or other forms of remembrances. I certainly encourage any form of writing that can be retained so that it can be turned into personal remembrances—stories that can be handed down from one generation to another.

Lynne Schafer Gross

V-1. A Little Bit of History: The 1980s

As with other books in this series, I’m beginning with historical events that I mention in diaries that I started keeping when I was 10 years old. Politically, the decade was dominated by two presidential terms for Republican Ronald Reagan, a former movie star and governor of California. Although I usually voted Democratic, I voted for Reagan and approved of at least some of his deregulatory policies.

My career branched out in some positive ways during this decade that included involvement in the media industry, authoring books, and working in foreign countries. Paul’s job took him into new areas of responsibility, also, and our sons, now teenagers, were becoming more independent and more independent-minded.

Here are some of the events that made it into my diary during the 1980s. They are dominated by politics, sports, and media.

January 20, 1980 – We watched Pittsburgh win the Super Bowl. I don’t usually root for Pittsburgh, but it was good to have the town of my birth win this one.

June 3, 1980 – I worked at the election booth at Grand View School and 261 people voted. This was for the June primary.

October 20, 1980 – We watched presidential debates. These were between incumbent Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

November 21, 1980 - We watched the J.R. episode of ‘Dallas.’ In the last episode of the third season of this CBS drama, which aired March 21, 1980, someone shot the main character, J.R. Ewing. The big question all summer was, Who shot J.R.? The hype of people guessing who, among J.R.’s many enemies, shot him increased the ratings when the show returned in the fall. Due to a contract dispute and a Writers Guild strike, the show naming his shooter wasn’t aired until November 21. So we, and much of the nation, watched eagerly as it was revealed that the trigger was pulled by J.R.’s sister-in-law and mistress in a fit of anger. J.R. did not press charges because she claimed she was pregnant with his child.

January 20, 1981 – We watched the inauguration on the large screen TV… The boys and I watched the hostage freedom on TV. There was irony in this. Fifty-three Americans were held hostage in Iran for 444 days. There had been a bungled attempt to free them and many negotiations. Carter lost the election, at least in part, because of the Iran situation. His administration did negotiate the release of the Americans, something that happened on the day his successor was inaugurated.

March 30, 1981 – Reagan was shot but not killed. As he was leaving a meeting, he was shot by John Hinckley, Jr., whose family had ties to Vice President George Bush. That was not considered to be a factor, however, and Hinckley was declared not guilty by reason of insanity and confined to psychiatric care.

August 6, 1981 – The air controllers strike hampered my airplane. I was going to Sacramento for a cable TV conference. Eventually Reagan fired all the air controllers and hired new ones in their place.

August 29, 1981 - We saw ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ We went to see it again December 24.

October 24, 1981 – We watched the World Series which the Dodgers won 8-7. They won in six games—their first title since 1965.

January 15, 1982 – The boys had the day off for Martin Luther King’s birthday. This is interesting because it didn’t become an official holiday until 1986. There were, however, proposals to make it a holiday as early as 1979.

April 5, 1983 - There was a tornado in Fullerton. Very rare.

May 9, 1984 – The Russians said they are not coming to the Olympics. Their boycott was largely in retaliation to the United States boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Russia. I was involved with the 1984 Olympics and the Russians’ pronouncement didn’t cause much of a stir.

November 6, 1984 – I watched election returns and Reagan beat Mondale. The win was decisive with Reagan capturing 40 of the 50 states. Even I voted for Reagan.

July 8, 1987 – I watched some of the Iran Contra hearings. This was a very complicated scandal that hit the Reagan administration. It involved the U.S. facilitating the sale of weapons to Iran through Israel and also involved the freeing of six American hostages held in Iran and giving funds to an anti-Communist group called the Contras in Nicaragua. The Senate and other groups held hearings and it was never decided how much Reagan, himself, knew, but people in his administration were indicted for inappropriate actions.

October 1, 1987 – We had a 6.1 earthquake this morning and my first class didn’t meet. California is known for its earthquakes.

September 3, 1988 – The temperature reached 110 in downtown L.A., a record.

January 20, 1989 – We watched the inauguration. George Bush, who had beaten Michael Dukakis, became President.

V-2. Europe with Paul

In 1980 we wound up taking several trips to Europe. The first one was unexpected. In February, Paul received an invitation from his ITT Cannon boss, Jim Von Harz, for an all-expense-paid trip for him and me. It was a business/pleasure trip for the men (it was all men) who worked for Van Harz in various parts of the world. The objective was to get them to know each other better so the company would run more smoothly—something the trip did accomplish. They spent some time touring ITT facilities and the rest socializing. The wives’ part was social and included many tours, some with their husbands.

The trip started Monday, March 3, and ended Sunday, March 16. We flew first class, and everything else—rooms, meals, transportation—was first class, too. Madrid was our first destination, but we flew into the Netherlands where there was an airline employees’ strike that caused us to arrive in Madrid late at night. We were with another couple, and because we were off schedule, no one met us at the airport. We hailed a cab, but the driver spoke very little English, so I used my high school Spanish to get us to the hotel. It worked—except at one point the driver told me I spoke Spanish like an African. I don’t think that was a compliment.

From Madrid we went to Toledo in Spain, Paris and Cannes in France, Monte Carlo in Monaco, and Sanremo in Italy. Among the sites we saw and experienced were the Madrid Royal Palace, the Prado, El Greco’s house in Toledo, the Eifel Tower, a French furniture museum, a boat ride on the Seine, the Moulin Rouge, the Arch of Triumph, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the beach at Nice, a glass blowing factory, a perfume factory, the Rothchild Museum, St. Margaritas Island where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned, the palace and casino in Monaco, and a dinner dance at the Palm Beach Casino in Cannes.

It was a classy, enjoyable trip. The only problem I had was Paul’s boss, Jim Von Harz, but I think I stayed far enough away from him that he didn’t notice. Perhaps a description of him will best indicate why I didn’t like him: he was corpulent and red-faced. He definitely liked to drink, probably to the point of having an alcohol problem. He also liked to eat, especially enormous sweet desserts. The problem was that he expected (forced might be a better word) others to partake of liquor and desserts. Neither is to my liking, so that’s why I tried as best I could to stay away from him.

V-3. Europe with the Boys

In June and July of 1980, I took Kevin (15), Owen (14), and Brian (11) on a trip to Europe. This had been preplanned before the trip with Paul occurred and included England, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and France. We had some interesting adventures and memorable times.

In England we saw the obligatory sights—the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Hyde Park. The Wimbledon tennis matches were in full swing (pardon the pun) while we were there, so we bought a ticket for Owen so he could attend for an hour and come to a fence to report the happenings to the rest of us. We also saw a British production of Oliver.

But the most memorable day in England was one when things went wrong. I was determined that my children receive some culture while on this trip so had planned a day in Stratford-on-Avon to learn about Shakespeare. An express train left London at 9:00 a.m. and express trains came back from Stratford at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. I figured we would probably come back at 3:00 but we had the option of staying longer.

The problem was we missed the 9:00 train from London to Stratford. The reason we missed the train was that Kevin didn’t get his act together. None of us were happy with Kevin, but Owen was particularly angry with him for ruining our day. Owen proclaimed that, because of his older brother, we would all have to spend the day in our hotel room. No way was I going to sit in a hotel room with two grouchy teenagers, and, besides, I was determined to give my kids some culture. So I figured out another way to get to Stratford-on-Avon. It involved a patchwork of trains, buses, and walking, but we could get there and then come back at 7:00 p.m.

So off we went—Kevin in the dog house, Owen in a funk, and Brian, wisely, trying to stay out of the fray. At one of the many little towns where