Closing thread... Spydro

[Spydro]

Fairly often I pass away some of the long hours of darkness resting quiet, vaping Reos and remembering some of the high points of my life. So I thought I’d start a new thread where I will share some of those times now and then.

The idea was spurred by an email I just received a couple of days ago on a very old email addy I didn’t even realize was still active. The email was from a gal I went to school with and have not seen or talked to since graduation. It was to invite me to the 50 year class reunion later this month. I have only attended one of the class reunions, the 20 year. While I didn't live there for the 10th, 30th or 40th, it was mainly because almost all of my closest guy and gal pals from those years either died in Vietnam the years after school, or were killed in car accidents, from illnesses, etc... including my school sweetheart I would have married if not for Vietnam who died 3-4 years after the 20th. So the 900+ mile trip for the 50th is not something I will attempt.

This email did take me back to 1967 though and the tale spin of memories from that very busy year when my life would change forever. I put these together some years ago to give folks who asked for an idea of what the Summer of Love really was. It will take several posts to get them up, but will do so over the next half hour to keep them all together. I'll not add a lot of info at this point... in fact I couldn't write/explain all the ramifications of that summer in a thousand pages.

Graduated in late May... the beginning of the next chapter.

 

[Spydro]

 

[Spydro]

 

[Spydro]

The beginning of the next chapter... or possibly the last one.

 

[Rob Fisher]

Oh wow! Wonderful pics and memories @Spydro! I remember 67 pretty well albeit I was only 12 at the time and watching TV (yes in those days we had black and white TV in Rhodesia)... it was an interesting time in history and a lot of what happened back in those days shaped what we are today.

 

[Caramia]

Fantastic memories there @Spydro!
I am just 20 years your junior, having our 30th this year... I am so not going.

 

[aktorsyl]

Fantastic memories there @Spydro!
I am just 20 years your junior, having our 30th this year... I am so not going.

@Caramia But hey, don't write off the 90's just yet. Some of the best growing-up years of my life were the late 90's!

@Spydro Awesome pics, what incredible memories these must be. Thanks for sharing!

 

[incredible_hullk]

Awesome @Spydro ... even though I'm only 36 if I cud change one thing it wud be to have experience life in 65

 

[Silver]

Thanks for sharing those memories and photos @Spydro
It is most interesting
What great times those sixties must have been!!

 

[Spydro]

... it was an interesting time in history and a lot of what happened back in those days shaped what we are today.

My generation in America did accomplish much of what they set out to do here... start changing our stalwart conformity culture to a more relaxed, individualistic forward looking society with far less hypocrisy and prejudices. It did change what America was overall, and eventually changed the world to some degree. Much of the "baby boomer" youth of America in the 50's-60's saw the right path, but my generation is dying off and are too old to have much effect on what America is sadly becoming.

With my issues this can not happen for me... but I'll be there in spirit. My collection of music from that era will play in the background here 24 hours every day of the festival (including the recording's I have of the original 3 days of 1967 Mtry Pop). I might even dig out my last remaining guitar (from 1971) and see it the old fingers have any magic left in them.

 

[Spydro]

Awesome @Spydro ... even though I'm only 36 if I cud change one thing it wud be to have experience life in 65

Here 1965 was all about the music, fast cars and the women for most young men (but I was also very active in sports and the outdoors). Life was good despite Vietnam looming in some of our futures.

 

[KB_314]

Beautiful pics @Spydro thank you for sharing these.
Looks like an amazing time and being at the centre of it all must have been quite something.

 

[Clouds4Days]

Nice pics @Spydro , wanted to ask on the one collage 2 pics down on the right hand side of the UC Berkley College aerial view pic.

Is that you swinging a lady around in your birthday suites?

 

[Spydro]

Nice pics @Spydro , wanted to ask on the one collage 2 pics down on the right hand side of the UC Berkley College aerial view pic.

Is that you swinging a lady around in your birthday suites?

A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell.

 

[johan]

Stunning @Spydro

 

[kev mac]

The beginning of the next chapter... or possibly the last one.

View attachment 95122
View attachment 95123

Great stuff @Spydro ,May I add a fond memory of mine from "The Summer of Love" ? Twas the year of the"Impossible Dream"when my beloved Boston Red Sox won the pennant on the last day of arguably the most exciting pennant race in baseball history.This was a huge accomplishment for New England Red Sox fans.

 

[Spydro]

Great stuff @Spydro ,May I add a fond memory of mine from "The Summer of Love" ? Twas the year of the"Impossible Dream"when my beloved Boston Red Sox won the pennant on the last day of arguably the most exciting pennant race in baseball history.This was a huge accomplishment for New England Red Sox fans.

Other epic 1967 sports included the NBA finals when the Boston Celtics, who had always been in them for many years, did not not make the playoff and instead the Philadelphia 76's defeated the San Francisco Warriors.... .... ....and what was in effect the first Super Bowl (AFL-NFL World Championship) in January where the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs. Then the Pack defeated the Dallas Cowboys later in December in the legendary Ice Bowl that won them a seat in the 1968 AFL-NFL World Championships (Super Bowl II.... where they ultimately defeated the Oakland Raiders).

 

[M5000]

Very interesting indeed. Is that where the P67 got it's name?

@Spydro I don’t know you personally but I know you from your posts. I find it very interesting because not many people seem so accomplished as they grow older. Like the post about the Elvis show car, or when someone mentioned a mod made in Greece and you knew the modmaker personally, and especially on the topic of photography you went into detail about your past with photography, that was enough to silence everyone in a photography forum. If someone mentioned a fork you would probably have a story about how you used to hang out at a cutlery plant as a kid and have a collection which shows each stage of the development process of the fork tip to perfect it to poke and not to prick. Crazy example but still wouldn’t rule it out with you. When people talk about doing things that will make them feel accomplished one day when they grow older and ponder while sitting in a rocking chair, the modern day version of that would be sitting with an OL16 on a P67 and finding yourself lost in a long deep thought and an even longer direct lung hit at the same time. In the big picture of life with the challenges and obstacles, I gather that you’ve done a pretty good job to go everywhere, do everything and see everything, makes the rest of us seem boring!

 

[Spydro]

I’m not in harmony with all you posted, but will say that as a wolf I have a different philosophy about life than most folks. I have always lived for today, not for when I would be too old with failing health to experience the best of it. I lived where I wanted to live, not where some job dictated because I was confident I could be successful anywhere doing anything I chose to do for a living. Work was also for the freedom to play hard. So I did go through my entire healthy life with my hair on fire, and sleep was optional. My life had challenges, but not obstacles I couldn’t overcome easy enough, I was successful and mastered many different and unrelated things. That made it possible to enjoy the more import personal interests from the endless list of things I wanted to experience and accomplish in life. But life is short, so I only scratched the surface of it before the health failed.

 

[Spydro]

As a follow to SOL'67... Vietnam changed America in very negative ways, including some that still persist to the present day. From the mid 60's the loss of so many from my generation during the five most costly years of Vietnam. Approx 52,500+ died those 5 years of the 58,000+ total who died during the nearly 20 year US involvement. A lot of young minds lost that might have made the country/world a better place, including the loss of many of my schoolmates. Back then Vietnam veterans were treated very poorly in America by a large percentage of Americans, and still are today by a substantial number. Instead of being hero's with ticker tape parades like WWII/Korean vets, they were.are mistrusted and blamed for our involvement instead of the government who sent them there. Employers wouldn't hire them, many even called them names/spit on them and quickly learned the hard way that was a mistake. 911 changed the attitude of some people, but vets from that era are still the forgotten warriors that many Americans still do not care about. I wear my attack squadron cap in public sometimes, and see that same look I saw soon after discharged from the service in '71. I suppose it makes them uneasy.

 

[Rob Fisher]

Not cool... I never understood why the Vietnam Vets were treated so badly...

 

[Spydro]

Not cool... I never understood why the Vietnam Vets were treated so badly...

Like what has happened in all conflicts between any counties involved in them before Nam to a degree, some in the US military back then earned the public opinion that unfortunately was applied to all Nam era vets even if they didn't serve in Nam. IOW the few who deserved it caused all vets to be seen as they were. In part maybe because the general public here saw and knew more about what actually went on there than in previous US involvements. The talking heads (newsmen) always give negatives far more air time and news page count. Many Americans were/are probably afraid of Nam vets because they well know the outlaw motorcycle clubs WW II vets formed after the war (the Hell's Angels the most famous).

 

[Rob Fisher]

Many Americans were/are probably afraid of Nam vets because they well know the outlaw motorcycle clubs WW II vets formed after the war (the Hell's Angels the most famous).

Oh wow I never knew that!