1968

1968, and for the first time in my life, I had "somewhere to be": Kindergarten. I attended the First Presbyterian Church Kindergarten, taught by Ann Berry. Mrs. Berry died only this year, and I remember her very fondly. Somewhere in the house in Clarksville, there is a stack of round, construction paper "Good Helper Awards" that she handed out, one per week. (Am I a hoarder? Well, it was probably my mother who made sure they got saved, not me.)

I remember the unspeakable shock of running into Mrs. Berry in the grocery store with my mother. This was WRONG. She was NOT where she belonged!

I remember I painted a jack o'lantern in kindergarten, and it was deemed impressive by Mrs. Berry.

I remember hiding under a table, jumping out, and kissing a girl on the cheek. Okay, I certainly remember who it was, but this brings me to a question that could grow to be significant as I continue this public journal: Do I name names? Am I writing an autobiography, of sorts? Should I just use initials? Does absolutely anyone care at all? I guess I'll just "wing it" as I go. Perhaps I'll change the names to protect the innocent.

In the summer of '68, we took a trip to San Antonio to see the HemisFair, so that must have been just before I started kindergarten. We went in our enormous blue Buick. (Before the Buick, I remember a black VW Beetle that we had.) At the Hemisfair, I saw Kaleidoscope, the live puppet show by Sid and Marty Krofft that was the progenitor of H.R. Pufnstuf, a TV show I loved dearly.

NET started carrying Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in 1968, and I have pre-Sesame Street memories of watching it, so I feel pretty sure WDCN carried it right away.

Wikipedia tells me that in 1968, NBC started broadcasting The Wizard of Oz. This is probably where I first saw it. I remember being terrified of the Witch, and not being able to watch that part.

The White Album, my favorite Beatles album, was released. Also, I have a Yellow Submarine book from my childhood, and this is the year the movie came out. Would we have gone to see it? Seems unlikely. Maybe I got the book later.

1968: And so, my education had begun.