1978 seems to be a year of serial nut-jobs. Son of Sam, Unibomber, Vampire of Sacramento, Ted Bundy, "Rev." Jim Jones, and "Killer Clown" Gacy all soil the headlines at one time or another.
The year started with the Dallas Cowboys playing (beating) the Denver Broncos in the Louisiana Superdome. It's the first time the Superbowl is played in a domed stadium.
Too many trips to the high altitude of Yellowstone Park hauling 6 snowmobiles and assorted tools and luggage did in the 350cid engine in the family Blazer. It is now running with 454cid big block and gets less than 10 mpg even on good days. Luckily the gas tank holds over 36 gallons.
I left single digits and turned 10 without any major disaster striking the world but instead by having minor surgery later that spring. I built a Lego Moon Lander (Kit # 565) during recuperation.
Kentucky wins the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament by beating Duke 94-88. My Cyclones finished the year 14-13; over .500 for the first time in four years.
That summer Dad put me at the wheel of my Uncle Duane's blue Ford pickup and had me pull a trailer of irrigation pipe (40' long/ 8" diameter aluminum) while they unloaded the pipe link by link. Chellee sat in the box of the truck and tossed out pipe clamps near each pipe. Later that same summer they taught me how to drive a Farmall M tractor for the same purpose. It wouldn't be much longer before my driving skills would take me out of the farm fields and onto the back-roads of Harrison County.
I played short stop in Pee Wee baseball and was really liking the game even though we didn't seem to win very often. The Skankees beat the Dodgers four games to two to win the World Series.
Part of my summer was spent taking saxophone lessons from Chris Cosgrove. The guy was a musical genius. The music book from which he chose to teach was a colossal bore.
Although Mork & Mindy would showcase the A.D.D. talents of previously little known Robin Williams, to me and my pre-adolescent peers the most important debut of the television season was about radio: WKRP in Cincinnati. “All right, Cincinnati, it's time for this town to get down! You've got Johnny - Doctor Johnny Fever, and I am burnin' up in here - Whoah! We all in critical condition, babies, but you can tell me where it hurts, cuz I got the healing prescription here from the big KRP musical medicine cabinet. Now I am talking about your 50,000 watts intensive care unit, babies! So just sit right back now, relax! Open your ears real wide and say, 'Give it to me straight, Doctor, I can take it!' Oh, I almost forgot, fellow babies... BOOGER!!!"
Coincidentally, radio is nearly unlistenable. Disco still taints the airways with occasional lapses of music from "Grease" and the smooth sounds of Barry Manilow (Fanilow anyone?). Thank the wax cylinder for Van Halen's debut.
My Fifth Grade year at the Modale campus started with two new instructors. Mr. VanPelt was the new classroom teacher and, thanks to the colored pencil styling of Mac, Paul F., and me, a comic book superhero. Mr. Scharff became the new elementary/junior high band instructor for both Modale and Pisgah campuses and would quickly change me from an alto saxophone to the baritone sax (which was about as tall as me at that time). I wish I had a bari sax now.
The Cyclone football team finishes its season with a Hall of Fame Bowl loss bringing its record to 8-4.
1978 was an ok year for me.
This post's title is from Van Halen's song "Runnin' with the Devil" which peaked at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Be safe.
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